Eugenio Garza: Let me start, if you want, Luis, on the margin pressure in Proximity Americas. On a like-for-like basis, what you said is correct. I mean, we are contemplating — we already obviously implemented all the changes related to labor reform, including vacations and whatnot, keeping up in place with just minimum wage increases and others. So, that is, I think, the driver of the like-for-like comparison. But you have to remember that on top of that, we are starting a multi-format business that is quite ambitious as well. So, there are a lot of staffing needs, new facilities that we’re stacking up, et cetera, that are coming up as well as all the other costs, which, as you know, we don’t capitalize on the balance sheet. So, it’s a little bit of a mixed bag. On a like-for-like basis, explains, I would say, maybe half of the effect, but the other one has to do more with how we’re ramping up for that.
José Antonio Fernández: Yes. And I think the word you mentioned, Luis, preparing for — obviously, there are still some uncertainties in terms of the lawmaking and some potential changes to the labor law that we’re obviously all monitoring closely, but there’s a lot of getting ready for 2024 that took place in 2023. And in the case of Europe, I mean, I think this was a very good quarter. I wouldn’t necessarily expect all quarters to be that strong. There are some currency issues at work too. I mean if you look at the numbers in local currency, it’s a high single-digit as opposed to a double-digit top line growth. But having said all that, there’s no question that the team in Valora is executing very well in the midst of a challenging environment. So, very encouraging.
Paco Camacho: But again — and this is Paco, Luis. I guess that the overarching element of all this is that structurally, the teams have done a terrific job both on this side in Americas, but also in Europe in terms of strengthening the operation itself to make it more efficient. And that’s — as you know, those are things that stay and that we need to keep in mind.
Unidentified Analyst: Great. And maybe as a follow-up, I know you’ve done most of the divestitures, at least the big ones. I mean, there’s still a few non-core assets that you’ve mentioned in the past that you’re willing to sell. Any updates on that? And can we expect that to perhaps being achieved this year as well?
Eugenio Garza: Yes. We’re cautiously optimistic that they will get done, I mean, much earlier than what we expected and probably faster than most people think. So, we’re making good progress on that.
Unidentified Analyst: Great. Thanks a lot guys.
José Antonio Fernández: Thank you, Luis.
Operator: Thank you very much. [Operator Instructions] And our next question is from Federico Galassi with TRG. Please go ahead.
Federico Galassi: Thank you guys for taking my question. One question related and you took this — part of the answer, if you want. But the question is related to Mexico and same-store sales in the different formats that you have, you’re talking about [Indiscernible], et cetera. But do you believe that this is more related with any format in particular? Or do you see some deceleration in the consumer in Mexico? Maybe the — if you can explain — is what are you seeing in the healthcare business when you have two quarters of — again, in Mexico, two a quarter of negative center sales? That’s the question. Thank you.
Juan Fonseca: Did you say in Health, Federico?
Paco Camacho: That was the second question.
Juan Fonseca: Second question.
Federico Galassi: I’m going to — yes, sorry.
Eugenio Garza: Sure. I mean the first part of the question, just with regards to Mexico, I mean, the consumer continues to be strong. I mean you’re seeing it, again, on a lapping basis, maybe it’s — the traffic is not as strong. But on an absolute basis and compared to what we saw I mean, for a long time, the consumer continues to have cash available and at least with the everyday items that we sell at off, so we continue to see, I mean, strength there and the margin pressure, again, has to do more with what we just discussed on labor, and it’s consistent throughout all formats. I wouldn’t say specific to either a hard discount or Proximity. And then with regards to your second question on health, we are seeing a more aggressive competitive environment, generally speaking, in Mexico, expansion of stores of our competition continues to be at a very healthy pace.
We’re keeping up, but you’re seeing a much healthier competitive environment and different value propositions propping up that are making the operating environment a little bit more challenging from a gross margin perspective.
Paco Camacho: Yes, Federico, just to add a couple of additional points, this is Paco. Look, I mean when you look at the results, Mexico posted very strong results. And when you look at OXXO, when you look at Coca-Cola FEMSA, we didn’t talk a lot about digital, but we have a very good results. So, in general, the businesses are doing really well in Mexico. The situation with health is punctual, and it happens every now and then, you have a competitive situation or you have a specific plan that didn’t go as you were thinking. In this case, I mean, really, as Eugenio said, it’s something related to how active competition has been, honestly, is good news because that means that the market is healthy, that we are in an interesting segment of the market.
And the teams are working on adjusting our strategies to phase up. Honestly, we are confident that the situation will get better. But again, we are not concerned on how the businesses are outperforming in Mexico on the contrary. We remain confident that 2024, even though we will have some headwinds as usual, but we’ll deploy our LRPs, we’ll deploy the plans, and we should expect good results.
Juan Fonseca: Yes. And I would add, Federico, I mean, we mentioned it in the remarks, but Mexico and Colombia, on the health side, yes, there have been some issues in terms of competitive landscape and shift from institutional to retail in the case of Colombia. But in both cases, the strategies are defined, and we’re starting to address that very, very diligently. So, hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, we’ll have different things to report on those fronts.
Federico Galassi: Okay guys. Thank you so much.
Juan Fonseca: Thank you. Thanks, everyone, for attending today, for your permanent interest in our company. Obviously, the team and I are always available for follow-ups and we’ll be in touch. Thank you.
Operator: Thank you very much. That concludes today’s conference. You may now disconnect. Hope [ph] you may stay on the line.
