PriceSmart, Inc..
PSMT.US | Other retail sale in non-specialized stores
PriceSmart, Inc. is a membership warehouse club operator in Latin America and the Caribbean. The company operates under a membership-only model, offering a wide range of consumer goods and services to its members. These include groceries, fresh produce, apparel, household goods, electronics, and oth...Show More
Better Health for All
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PriceSmart applies food safety standards across all clubs, including an in-house microbiological sampling program, third-party audits, and training for food preparation staff.
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In FY2022, 62 vendor food safety audits were performed.
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The company also has a food donation program for bakery and produce items, initiated in Costa Rica and Guatemala in FY2022, with plans to expand to other countries in FY2023.
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PriceSmart made over US$1 million in philanthropic contributions in FY2022, focusing on areas including youth development and economic opportunity, and its 'Aprender y Crecer' program reached 135,827 students and 6,700 teachers at 254 schools.
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The 'Aprender y Crecer Vision' program aims to improve vision access for 16,600+ students by the end of FY2023 and 30,400+ by FY2024 in Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.
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The company offers employee wellness and emotional intelligence webinars, but no specific health-related expenditure for preventative measures is provided.
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Fair Money & Economic Opportunity
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PriceSmart, Inc. is a membership warehouse club operator and its core business lies outside financial services. Therefore, KPIs related to lending, financial products, APRs, fees, loan books, and debt ratios are not applicable. The company does not offer consumer credit products or financial services. While the PriceSmart Foundation engages in initiatives like the 'Women's Business Growth Initiative' (EMPRO) in Honduras and Guatemala, supporting 80 women-led small and medium-sized businesses, and the 'Aprender y Crecer' program serving over 135,000 students in public elementary schools, these are not direct financial services offered by PriceSmart, Inc. and do not constitute a 'loan/insurance book' or 'customer finance data'.
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The company aims to offer low prices to its paid members and operates at lower gross margins than competitors, utilizing a private label strategy for value.
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Fair Pay & Worker Respect
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No specific, concrete data points were provided across the articles to assess PriceSmart, Inc. against the defined KPIs for Fair Pay & Worker Respect. Information regarding living wage coverage, CEO median pay ratio, collective bargaining share, safety incident rate, pay equity ratio, worker engagement score, turnover rate, labor violation incidents, insecure contract share, and health insurance coverage was either explicitly stated as unavailable, not applicable, or not mentioned.
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While some articles mentioned the availability of health insurance plans and other benefits, no quantitative data on the percentage of the workforce covered by employer-funded health insurance was provided.
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Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing
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PriceSmart's Code of Conduct applies to all vendors, including direct and indirect suppliers of goods and services, contractors, and service providers.
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Vendor agreements require suppliers to comply with local, national, and international laws, including the FCPA, and to represent that their supply chains are free of human trafficking and forced/child labor.
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The company directs 51% of its merchandise procurement budget to local vendors in Latin America and the Caribbean.
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Honest & Fair Business
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PriceSmart, Inc. has an FCPA policy that outlines prohibited payments, required approvals, due diligence procedures for third-party vendors, and training requirements for employees with foreign official contact.
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However, the policy's training frequency and effectiveness metrics are not specified.
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The company also provides a hotline network for reporting potential FCPA violations, but there is no evidence of independent investigation processes.
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Sustainalytics categorizes PSMT.US as having 'None' for ESG controversy.
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Kind to Animals
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No specific, concrete evidence was found in the provided articles to assess PriceSmart, Inc. against any of the 'Kind to Animals' KPIs. The articles mention PriceSmart's Fiscal Year 2024 Sustainability Report
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and collaborations on sustainable seafood initiatives
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, but these do not provide measurable data points related to animal welfare, animal testing, humane certifications, ethical input substitution, or direct wildlife conservation impact by PriceSmart, Inc.
No War, No Weapons
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No explicit evidence was found in the provided articles to assess PriceSmart, Inc. against the 'No War, No Weapons' ethical value. The articles, including an Environmental and Social Responsibility report, do not contain information regarding the company's involvement in arms contracts, dual-use technology, sales to embargoed regimes, peacebuilding investments, or any other specific metrics related to this value.
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Mentions of 'worthy causes' or 'community resilience' in are not explicitly defined as 'peacebuilding or disarmament initiatives' as required by the KPI.
Planet-Friendly Business
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The company reported no regulatory actions, violations, fines, or compliance issues in FY2024.
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It operates 55 warehouse clubs across 12 countries and one U.S. territory, with plans for a 56th club by summer 2025.
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45 of its 54 clubs have rooftop solar arrays, generating 31,952 MWh of clean power in FY2024, which represents a 15.8% increase from FY2023.
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The company's food rescue program has expanded to 9 countries, diverting over 1.2 million pounds of food from waste since its launch.
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Respect for Cultures & Communities
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PriceSmart has at least three formal partnerships, including one with Rappi in Colombia, one with PricePhilanthropies Foundation for its Aprender y Crecer program, and one with the Global FoodBanking Network.
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No cultural appropriation incidents are reported in the provided articles.
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Approximately 96% of PriceSmart's employees were employed outside of the United States as of August 31, 2024.
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The company sources slightly more than half its merchandise from suppliers within the region.
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The newly created PriceSmart Foundation makes grants to support workforce development, small business entrepreneurship, and environmental improvement, and supports nonprofit organizations and community projects in Honduras, Guatemala, Colombia, and Jamaica.
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In fiscal year 2024, 2,100 employees received specialized training in developing a "member-centric mindset," and over 6,400 corporate talent development learning sessions were held, which included general leadership training.
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Safe & Smart Tech
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PriceSmart experienced a data breach in October 2024 where an unauthorized third party gained access to its systems.
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The company stated the incident was contained promptly, had minimal impact on the membership base, and affected members were notified.
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The company's privacy policy mentions limiting data collection to necessary information for its corporate purpose and compliance with applicable privacy and data protection laws.
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It also outlines user rights to access, update, and rectify their personal data.
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Financial information is protected using SSL and TLS encryption.
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The company has a fraud prevention team that may request additional information to confirm identity, and its terms mention passwords and security, but specific details on authentication methods are not provided.
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Zero Waste & Sustainable Products
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The company achieved a 74% reduction in plastic in its packaging.
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It uses 25% post-consumer recycled film in packaging.
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PriceSmart has established public recycling stations at 7 clubs across Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, which diverted 1,148 tons of material from landfills in FY2024.
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The company also diverted significant amounts of specific waste streams in FY2022, including 410,455 pallets, 90,233 tires, and 21,208 car batteries, and in FY2024, 10,502.10 metric tons of cardboard and 691 metric tons of plastic.
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PriceSmart has a Sustainable Solutions Manufacturing facility in Trinidad & Tobago producing compostable bio-resin and recycled PET packaging, replacing styrofoam meat trays.
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The company has a target to generate 30,000 U.S. tons less carbon.
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It partners with local food banks to donate excess food supplies, initiating first donations in Costa Rica and Guatemala in September 2022, and expanding its Food Rescue & Giving Program to Trinidad and Tobago.
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Vendor agreements require suppliers to comply with all applicable local, national, and international laws.
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The company had no waste disposal violations in the past 3 years.
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Employees completed more than 670 environmental awareness training sessions in FY2024.
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