Our central focus has not changed, and we continue to prioritize caring for people and the environment, as described in greater detail in this report. In terms of how we operate the company, we are always mindful that sustainability is fundamentally about the long-term viability of the enterprise, and we evaluate all major business decisions through a sustainability lens.

In this spirit, in FY2024 we redoubled our focus on efficiency. Efficiency is central to ensuring the viability of our business model and the success of the company. It is also vital to our ability to deliver value to our Members while simultaneously reducing our environmental impacts and shrinking our carbon footprint.

To this end, three broad initiatives are underway at PriceSmart. First, we have studied our supply chains and found ways to consolidate our sourcing of products at their points of origin. This makes good business sense because it shortens delivery times and reduces handling, and it also benefits the climate by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

A second and directly related initiative is our expanded use of in-country distribution centers (DCs) to receive and process these consolidated shipments. In addition to existing DCs in Costa Rica and Panama, we are constructing DCs in Guatemala as well as Trinidad and Tobago, with plans to build additional DCs in other countries where we operate.

These first two initiatives tie into the third, which is optimizing how we use space in our clubs. Delivering origin-consolidated shipments directly to in-country distribution centers reduces the need for storage areas at each club, thereby freeing up more floor space for sales, and in some cases reducing or eliminating the need to renovate existing clubs as membership and sales increase.

Thank you for your interest in PriceSmart’s sustainability activities, and I look forward to sharing information about the progress we’ve made in FY2025 in next year’s report.