Elektra is a Mexican retail chain founded in 1950 by Hugo Salinas Price in Mexico City. The company is part of Grupo Elektra[1] and has nearly 1,300 locations across Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras.[2] Elektra offers a variety of products, including household appliances, computer systems, consumer electronics, mobile phones, motorcycles, furniture, toys, and money transfer services.[3]
History
Origins
The company was founded in 1950 by businessman Hugo Salinas Price as a small appliance store in Monterrey, Nuevo León.[2] Elektra became the first company to produce televisions for the Mexican market.[4][5] Later, it introduced a monthly-payment plan as part of its service offerings.[5]
In 1956, the company opened its first retail store. Over time, new locations for public access began to open, and additional products like furniture and home accessories were added to its catalog. Due to the decrease of wholesale sale, the company shifted its focus to a retail model.[4]
Expansion
After applying for credit from foreign banks in the early 1960s, the company increased its sales by 40%, expanded the variety of products in its catalog, and extended its operations nationwide.[4] By 1964, the company already operated sixteen stores. Under Hugo Salinas Price's leadership, Elektra grew to 59 points of sale in Mexico.[1]
In the mid-1980s, Hugo Salinas Price passed the management of the company to his son, Ricardo Salinas Pliego, who became Elektra's president in 1987. Since then, the company has expanded internationally, opening branches in several Central and South American countries (which later closed).[1] In 1999, Elektra acquired 94.3% of the capital of Salinas y Rocha, a store chain founded in 1906 by Benjamín Salinas Westrup,[6] through an auction.
To capitalize on the e-commerce sector, Elektra restructured its online store in 2017, transforming it into an e-commerce platform.[7] A year later, the company was awarded the title of e-commerce leader in retail in Mexico by the Mexican Association of Online Sales (AMVO) and the Latin American Institute of Electronic Commerce (eCommerce Institute).[8][9]
Present
In 2022, Elektra ranked 73rd on Expansión magazine's list of the 500 most important companies in Mexico. A year later, it was included in Time magazine's ranking of the best companies in the world, compiled in partnership with the data provider Statista.
According to the 2022 annual report, the company operates 1,275 points of contact, with 1,167 located in Mexico and 108 in Guatemala and Honduras. It also has twelve distribution centers in Mexico and seven in Central America.[10]
Products and services
Elektra initially focused on the sale of radio and television equipment,[4] but over time, it expanded its product and service portfolio. At the present, it specializes in household appliances, consumer electronics, furniture, motorcycles, mobile phones, toys, computer systems, bicycles, electronic funds transfers, extended warranties, and more.[3] According to official company data, Elektra sells nearly 1 in 4 televisions, 1 in 5 refrigerators, and 7 out of 10 motorcycles in Mexico.[11]
Elektra's products primarily target the C and D+ segments of the population, representing middle to lower-income groups,[3][12] while the products offered by the Salinas & Rocha chain target the C+ and C socioeconomic levels.[5]
Sustainability and ethical values
As part of Grupo Salinas, in 2018, Elektra joined the United Nations Global Compact, committing to its ten principles in areas such as human rights, labor, the environment, and anti-corruption.[13] According to official data, the company has invested 113 million Mexican pesos in environmental management, with 35% of the energy used in its processes coming from renewable sources.[14] Elektra also adopted the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures for the "analysis of climate change risks and opportunities".[15] In 2022, Elektra was recognized with the Socially Responsible Company (ESR, by its Spanish acronym)[16] distinction, awarded by the Mexican Center for Philanthropy (CEMEFI, by its Spanish acronym).
Elektra has worked closely with the Fundación Azteca campaign, a corporate social responsibility organization founded in 1997 by Grupo Salinas, on various social outreach and environmental protection programs in Mexico and Central America.[17][18][19]
Rankings
MERCO (2024)
Elektra entered the list of the 100 companies with the best corporate reputation in Mexico for the first time, ranking 98th, in the Corporate Reputation Business Monitor (in Spanish: MERCO-Monitor Empresarial de Reputación Corporativa).[20]
FXC Intelligence
Elektra, as part of Grupo Elektra, was recognized for its global leadership in remittances with its inclusion in FXC Intelligence's Top 100.[21]
