Grupo Éxito, French retailer Groupe Casino's South American arm, announced Wednesday that its consolidated sales for the third quarter had reached $16.6 billion, with comparable pro forma growth of 12.1%.
The company is the largest retailer in South America, operating in Brazil (where its sales grew 4.4% this quarter), Colombia (+10.6%), Uruguay (+9.3%), and Argentina (+23.4%).
Its Brazilian branch recorded an increase of 14% in food sales, the highest in the last eight quarters, due to the expansion of sales in the Assaí format.
Its national affiliate, Grupo Pão de Açúcar, announced the sale of electronics and furniture arm Via Varejo to focus on growing supermarket food sales in the future.
Grupo Éxito also signed a memorandum of understanding with Fondo Inmobilario Colombia, administered by Fiduciaria BanColombia, to invest in Viva Malls. Viva Malls specialises in the development and operation of commercial centres and is the largest of its kind in Colombia.
Its dual retail-real-estate model and strong productivity helped it weather the difficult economic environment in Brazil, the company said.
It attributed any loss in net consolidated sales to the tough Brazilian market, as well as increased interest rates (4.75% - 7.75%) in Colombia.
The company has maintained enough liquidity and a solid and sustainable EBITDA, it said. This has allowed it to cover its financial dilemmas and continue with its expansion plans in the four countries.
President and CEO Carlos Mario Giraldo said, "2016 has been a year of transition in which we have overcome great challenges and are showing a gradual recovery in Brazilian sales, despite adverse macroeconomic conditions. The capturing of synergies between countries, the launch of our real-estate arm, and the gradual stabilising of regional inflation has caused us to look forward to 2017 with optimism."
Grupo Éxito has 2,518 stores throughout South America. Sixteen stores were opened this quarter.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Karen Henderson. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
