Mexico's Walmex cooks up plan to attract more women

MEXICO CITY, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Mexico's leading retailer Walmex hopes to attract more middle- and high-income women to its Supercenter stores by having chefs teach them to cook using products and produce sold at the stores.

Starting on Thursday, Wal-Mart de Mexico (WALMEXV.MX) plans to have a chef at each of its 137 Wal-Mart Supercenters, the company told Reuters in an e-mail, to increase customers in the face of weakening Mexican and U.S. economies.

The threat of recession in the United States has led to less cash being sent to Mexico by Mexicans working abroad and contributed to more cautious consumer spending.

Televised cooking shows are popular in Mexico, where most supermarket shopping decisions are made by women.

Walmex expects to open 205 new outlets in Mexico this year, including 17 new Supercenters.

Walmex, a unit of Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N), rose 1 percent to 40.70 pesos in early afternoon trading. (Reporting by Cyntia Barrera Diaz, Editing by Toni Reinhold)