He Day group He decided last year to leave Portugal and is closer to leaving Brazil as well. The supermarket chain has launched a restructuring process in the South American country that includes the closure of 343 unprofitable stores, 60% of the total, and three warehouses, while it will keep 244 establishments operational in São Paulo, as reported this Thursday. . The objective is “to allocate resources to the most profitable markets with the greatest growth potential, Spain and Argentina,” according to the company.
Brazil was Dia's big drag last year. The group reduced its global losses by 75%, to 30 million euros, thanks to the strong momentum of the business in Spain, which returned to profit for the first time in six years. But the Red numbers doubled in the Brazilian market: they went from 72 million in 2022 to 154 million in 2023. The CEO, Martín Tocalchir, indicated in the presentation of results at the end of February that the strong competition, with aggressive promotional activity, and the fall of sales volumes in the sector in Brazil were behind the worsening of accounts and that throughout 2024 it would decide what to do with the subsidiary, without ruling out leaving the country.
The closure of “low-performing” stores is “the most immediate measure” contemplated the restructuring communicated this Thursday to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV). Afterwards, there will be “a subsequent analysis of different strategic alternatives for the rest of Dia's business in Brazil,” the note advances. Dia has 587 stores in Brazil, of the 3,956 it has in total.
“This decision is part of a store adjustment plan in the country that aims to try to give stability to the structure of Grupo Dia in Brazil so that it can be viable after the persistent negative results,” he explains in a press release. . The measure, according to the company, will allow it to focus its resources on Spain and Argentina, “where it has currently achieved a relevant position with a strategy focused on local food distribution.” Both Spain and Argentina made profits last year, especially the Spanish market, with 122 million euros.
The company went into losses in 2018 and was on the verge of going bankrupt. Since then, and after increasing capital, efforts have been directed at simplifying the structure, selling large-format establishments, focusing on local commerce and promoting own brands. In this first half of the year, it plans to complete the sales operations of the Clarel perfumeries, with a thousand stores in Spain, to the Colombian group Trinity and the 458 Minipreço stores to Auchan in Portugal, which means its departure from this country.
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