Sears (Mexico) to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands where he supervised the business expansion of the islands. From 1955 to 1993, Sears opened stores throughout Mexico. On April 2, 1997, Sears, now owned by Sears Holdings, formed a strategic alliance with Grupo Carso, owned by Mexican businessman Carlos Slim Helú, through which Sears agreed to sell 85% of its share of Sears Mexico to Grupo Carso, until 1997. As of 2007, Grupo Carso owned a 100% share of the company. Even though Sears unveiled a new lowercase logo in the United States in 2010, Sears Mexico still retains the pre-2004 logo (in
Carlos Slim in copper and aluminum products, along with a chemicals business, Química Fluor, and others. Slim made a large fortune in the early 1990s when Mexico privatized its telecom industry and Grupo Carso acquired Telmex from the Mexican government. In 1990 the Grupo Carso was floated as a public company initially in Mexico and then worldwide. Grupo Carso also acquired majority ownership of Porcelanite, a tile making company in 1990. This investment was assigned to an associated company, but in 1995 Grupo Carso began growing its equity stake to 83 percent and subsequently made it a subsidiary. Later in 1990, Slim