Dear shareholders,
I greet you, hoping that yourselves and your families are just doing well.
2021 represented a year of recovery for the Mexican economy and its different sectors, the global outbreak of COVID-19 in the early 2020s put many businesses in jeopardize, by completely altering the lifestyle and consumption habits, forcing to adapt to the new trends, and Acosta Verde, certainly, was not the exception.
Coherent to our philosophy, we faced this challenge, visualizing it as an opportunity, while refocused our vision to the new real, successfully achieving these objectives: i) shopping centers with more commercial lines of business and services (requested by our visitors); ii) at the end of 2020, we launched and continued to develop our exclusive online showroom SenderoEnCasa.com, for our tenants, to show their available items, thus promoting hybrid commerce (on-site and online); and, iii) we further strengthened our relationship with our commercial partners, by providing them with the required support to get through the challenging juncture, while reestablishing people’s confidence to return to their second homes, the Sendero Plazas. This was proof of the resilience of the Sendero concept, as well as of the team’s creativity and commitment to constantly seek for alternatives that will make our visitors return, as they will find everything they need in a safe environment.
None of this would have been possible without the constant effort, dedication, and commitment of our team of associates. Undoubtedly, the strongest pillar in Grupo Acosta Verde’s strategy is the talent of our people. The well-being of our people, the constant training and their professional development make that every day the obstacles that arise in the challenging environment are faced with a positive attitude, creative to solve adversities and, above all, the Acosta Verde team spirit. Without hesitations, we can tell that have the best team of associates in Mexico, thanks to our strong corporate culture.
In this regard, the progress of the National Vaccination Program has favored a more normalized operation for our shopping centers, providing greater stability to the tenants, who have practically resumed their activities in their entirety (including the most affected businesses, such as movie theaters, restaurants, gyms, and general entertainment). This operational stability is reflected in the 88.0 million visitors of Sendero during 2021, 34% higher than the figure reported in 2020 and equivalent to 80% of the 109 million visitors in 2019. In addition, we achieved a 100% collection effectiveness during the year, and most important our commercial partners’ sales in the 4Q21 already beat those of 4Q19.
As you can see, our ¡Seguro vienes más! campaign served and continues to serve as an essential driving force that alongside the constant reinforcement of our safety protocols and advertising to promote Sendero Plazas as safe environments, encourage people to visit us and return to our Senderos. It is worth emphasizing that the sanitation measures implemented (which will remain in place as long as necessary) are not exclusive to common areas, as we continually ensure that tenants and employees are aligned to our internal protocols and different mandates issued by the different authorities.
Additionally, and proof of our commitment to the wellbeing of our communities, I am proud to mention that for most of the year a number of our Sendero Plazas were set up as COVID-19 vaccination centers, receiving hundreds of thousands people for the application of the vaccines in the states of Sinaloa, Baja California, Sonora and Nuevo Leon.
In Nuevo Leon, during March 2021, we added more than 34,000 m2 of gross leasable area (“GLA”) to our operating portfolio with the opening of Plaza Sendero Santa Catarina (the #44 shopping center in the history of Acosta Verde), which will surely become the second home of a large percentage of people from the western side of the Monterrey metropolitan area.
It should be reminded that this opening was scheduled for 2020, and due to the pandemic, development activities had to be suspended, but, after evaluating the progress of both construction and marketing of the GLA, it was decided to resume the development of this property once the sanitary conditions allowed it.
On the other hand, the construction of Plaza Sendero Ensenada in Baja California remains on hold until the uncertainty related to COVID-19 dissipates and operating performance within the minimum thresholds that featured our business model can be assured.
I greet you, hoping that yourselves and your families are just doing well.
2021 represented a year of recovery for the Mexican economy and its different sectors, the global outbreak of COVID-19 in the early 2020s put many businesses in jeopardize, by completely altering the lifestyle and consumption habits, forcing to adapt to the new trends, and Acosta Verde, certainly, was not the exception.
Coherent to our philosophy, we faced this challenge, visualizing it as an opportunity, while refocused our vision to the new real, successfully achieving these objectives: i) shopping centers with more commercial lines of business and services (requested by our visitors); ii) at the end of 2020, we launched and continued to develop our exclusive online showroom SenderoEnCasa.com, for our tenants, to show their available items, thus promoting hybrid commerce (on-site and online); and, iii) we further strengthened our relationship with our commercial partners, by providing them with the required support to get through the challenging juncture, while reestablishing people’s confidence to return to their second homes, the Sendero Plazas. This was proof of the resilience of the Sendero concept, as well as of the team’s creativity and commitment to constantly seek for alternatives that will make our visitors return, as they will find everything they need in a safe environment.
None of this would have been possible without the constant effort, dedication, and commitment of our team of associates. Undoubtedly, the strongest pillar in Grupo Acosta Verde’s strategy is the talent of our people. The well-being of our people, the constant training and their professional development make that every day the obstacles that arise in the challenging environment are faced with a positive attitude, creative to solve adversities and, above all, the Acosta Verde team spirit. Without hesitations, we can tell that have the best team of associates in Mexico, thanks to our strong corporate culture.
In this regard, the progress of the National Vaccination Program has favored a more normalized operation for our shopping centers, providing greater stability to the tenants, who have practically resumed their activities in their entirety (including the most affected businesses, such as movie theaters, restaurants, gyms, and general entertainment). This operational stability is reflected in the 88.0 million visitors of Sendero during 2021, 34% higher than the figure reported in 2020 and equivalent to 80% of the 109 million visitors in 2019. In addition, we achieved a 100% collection effectiveness during the year, and most important our commercial partners’ sales in the 4Q21 already beat those of 4Q19.
As you can see, our ¡Seguro vienes más! campaign served and continues to serve as an essential driving force that alongside the constant reinforcement of our safety protocols and advertising to promote Sendero Plazas as safe environments, encourage people to visit us and return to our Senderos. It is worth emphasizing that the sanitation measures implemented (which will remain in place as long as necessary) are not exclusive to common areas, as we continually ensure that tenants and employees are aligned to our internal protocols and different mandates issued by the different authorities.
Additionally, and proof of our commitment to the wellbeing of our communities, I am proud to mention that for most of the year a number of our Sendero Plazas were set up as COVID-19 vaccination centers, receiving hundreds of thousands people for the application of the vaccines in the states of Sinaloa, Baja California, Sonora and Nuevo Leon.
In Nuevo Leon, during March 2021, we added more than 34,000 m2 of gross leasable area (“GLA”) to our operating portfolio with the opening of Plaza Sendero Santa Catarina (the #44 shopping center in the history of Acosta Verde), which will surely become the second home of a large percentage of people from the western side of the Monterrey metropolitan area.
It should be reminded that this opening was scheduled for 2020, and due to the pandemic, development activities had to be suspended, but, after evaluating the progress of both construction and marketing of the GLA, it was decided to resume the development of this property once the sanitary conditions allowed it.
On the other hand, the construction of Plaza Sendero Ensenada in Baja California remains on hold until the uncertainty related to COVID-19 dissipates and operating performance within the minimum thresholds that featured our business model can be assured.
Even when development activities are placed on hold for an undetermined period of time, Acosta Verde has a very solid balance sheet that will allow it to take advantage of opportunities that may eventually arise, so we are constantly monitoring new investment options, in order to expand the current portfolio and increase the Company’s profitability. More detailed news will follow soon!
Against this backdrop, and to provide more insights into our performance, in 2021 we posted these results:
Comparing our current results with those prior to COVID-19, we can confirm the lowered but persistent impact on our operations and on the economies of our tenants and visitors. Nevertheless, we are optimistic that we have gradually advanced on the path of recovery, from which we will undoubtedly emerge stronger, with the capacity to positively influence the communities where we operate, as we pursued coherent environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) actions.
In this regard, in addition to the traditional activities we carry out to benefit the environment (campaigns for tree planting, cardboard recycling, water recycling, grease handling, among others) and help our community (employees, including myself, visit institutions such as orphanages, hospitals and nursing homes to support where possible), along with the aforementioned contribution to the National Vaccination Program, during this 2021, we are actively working to strengthen our approach to sustainability, taking giant steps to achieve this goal.
In this context, in the middle of the year we published our first Annual Sustainability Report 2020, which was prepared in accordance with GRI standards (the leading reference framework in the preparation of this type of reports), as well as applying the recommendations of other relevant organizations.
In order to prepare this Report, Acosta Verde conducted its first materiality study, for which it interviewed a representative sample of its stakeholders, in conjunction with an internal investigation, to identify the most relevant issues that affect the Company’s performance. Finally, based on these identified material issues, we defined 4 key pillars to develop our Strategic Sustainability Plan, which can be found in detail in the ESG section of this report. We are confident that with these initiatives we will establish ourselves as a model for sustainability within the real estate development and services industries of which we are a part.
In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to express my outmost appreciation to our employees (most of whom were trained in our “basic forces”), because it is in their passion, sense of responsibility, ability to adapt and service attitude, where Acosta Verde maintains its main asset. We will continue to prioritize at all times the health of our team and our visitors, in order to continue offering a high-quality experience to the millions of Mexican families who come to Sendero for entertainment or to satisfy their consumption and service needs. Let’s remember that you will surely visit Sendero many times!
Thank you very much for your trust, we are sure that the best is yet to come.
Best regards.
Jesús A. Acosta Castellanos
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF GRUPO ACOSTA VERDE