Farmacias Lopez: A story of family
Being raised in a Hispanic household and having lived in Mexico for the first half of my life, my heritage means a lot to me. To me, being Hispanic means many things. It’s the way my family raised me and the principles that have been engraved in me. It’s the fact that family is at the core of my values. My family has an immense amount of history that proves to me just how hard working Hispanics really are. The way my mother paid for her own college, or how my grandpa crossed to the United States to work in the fields to support his four children are just two examples. While there are countless stories to tell, let me tell you one of the important ones in my family.
On Sept. 24, 1908, a boy named Ambrosio Lopez Martinez was born in Monterey, Nuevo Leon. Ambrosio spent most of his early years on his family ranch, where he learned the basics of farm life and the importance of hardwork. When he met his future wife, Leonor Lopez Lozano, the next step of his life began. Ambrosio had 10 children, nine boys and one girl, whom he taught the same hard working principles his parents taught him. Day after day, Ambrosio tended the fields with his children, mostly picking cotton.
As the times demanded it, Ambrosio often moved from place to place in Mexico chasing after work. Though work was scarce, he never gave up hope and stayed firm in his values and principles. His hard work and dedication earned Amborsio Lopez the reputation of being among the hardest working and disciplined people in his town. According to his grandson, Carlos Alberto Lopez, “People recognized him as a responsible person…” In the late 1950s Ambrosio and his family moved to Reynosa, Mexico, where a local pharmacy went bankrupt. Due to Ambrosio’s hardworking reputation, the pharmacy was offered to him and his children. This pharmacy was named “Farmacias America” and it was the beginning of an incredible journey for the Lopez family.
But Farmacias America had a rough start. During its first couple of months, the business was not performing the way the owners planned. Raul Lopez Lopez, son of Ambrosio and current co-owner of the company said, “The main problem [we] had at the beginning was the lack of liquidity.” Raul continued to explain that “…the business project started more with the will to undertake [rather] than with [the necessary] capital.” After months of underperformance with the added lack of marketing knowledge, Ambrosio made the difficult decision of leaving the business behind.
It wouldn’t be for another four years that a new attempt would be made to continue the once unsuccessful family business. But after it was offered to him a second time, Ambrosio put all his dedication to the success of the pharmacy. With a better grasp on business, marketing and more capital in the form of private investors, Ambrosio was able to kick off Farmacias Lopez on a stronger foot.
Consequently, the pharmacy began to succeed, slowly growing at a linear pace. As the pharmacy became more known around Reynosa, additional private investors and customers placed their trust in them. Raul Lopez Lopez said, “The takeoff took place little by little once the supplier companies realized that we were a reliable company.” New branches of the pharmacy under the same name, “Farmacias Lopez,” started popping up all over Reynosa over the span of 50 years.
Today, Farmacias Lopez is one of the most recognizable pharmacy chains in the state of Tamaulipas with almost 50 different locations. Sixty-one years since the first pharmacy was established, Farmacias Lopez is still a family-owned business, with a majority of the employees being the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Ambrosio. Raul Lopez Lopez said, “The future of Farmacias López is very promising…with more than 300 employees and with very great possibilities to continue growing locally and regionally.” The success of the company came from Ambrosio’s hard work and dedication, but its resilience has come from one extremely important thing. Family. “The success of the company…was the love for family…family was first,” said Carlos.
In the end, Amborsio Lopez Martinez, my great-grandpa, created a foundation with his hard work and dedication for my family, something that has inspired me since I can remember. When looking back on my heritage, I am reminded of the incredible people that Hispanics are. My culture has always shown me the importance of hardwork and family. Amborsio’s story is a testament to the character of Hispanics and the incredible things that we can achieve.
