Grupo Pão de Açúcar (GPA) is a Brazilian retail company, controlled by the French group Casino. The company's operations occur through supermarket and hypermarket chains, such as:
Pão de Açúcar: It is a premium supermarket chain focused on the AB audience, offering everything from basic products to the most sophisticated. It also features specialized service in the areas of coffee, wine, and cheese. In addition, the brand has the loyalty program Pão de Açúcar Mais and Pão de Açúcar Adega. It also has the proximity model Minuto Pão de Açúcar and pharmacies.
Extra: It is a company made up of minimarkets, supermarkets, and hypermarkets. In Extra Hiper stores, gas stations and pharmacies are included. The company also has its own loyalty program, the Clube Extra.
Compre Bem: It is a supermarket chain relaunched in 2018. It has a proximity model with the consumer, so the intention is to offer products at lower prices. The sectors that stand out in this chain are the butcher, bakery, and produce sections.
Grupo Pão de Açúcar also participates in the pharmaceutical sector through the Drogaria Extra chain and gas stations under the Pão de Açúcar brand.
Furthermore, Grupo Pão de Açúcar, through the GPA Malls brand, manages real estate assets, administration, and expansion of the shopping galleries operated alongside the Group's stores. Finally, the company also owns some food brands such as:
Qualitá: It is a brand focused on everyday products. It has a strong presence in Extra supermarkets.
Taeq: Developed by GPA, Taeq is a line of healthy products such as breakfast cereals, yogurts, cereal bars, and teas.
Casino: Gourmet product brand. This exclusive brand has French origins.
The history of Grupo Pão de Açúcar began on November 25, 1929, when Valentim dos Santos Diniz, a Portuguese immigrant, arrived in Brazil. Diniz moved to São Paulo and began working in commerce.
Later, in 1948, Diniz realized his dream of owning a business through Doceria Pão de Açúcar. The company's name was a tribute to Brazil, as the first landscape he admired from the ship upon arriving in Brazil was the Pão de Açúcar.
The business established itself and began to grow. Thus, in 1952, two branches were opened. In 1959, the first supermarket of the chain was inaugurated in front of Doceria Pão de Açúcar.
By 1965, the chain had reached 11 stores after incorporating the Sirva-se chain. The following year, the company opened its first store outside São Paulo in Santos. The company continued to grow, and by 1968, the chain had 64 stores and the International Division was created with stores in Portugal, Spain, and Angola.
The 1970s was a period of great expansion for the company. In 1974, the operations of Assaí Atacadista began. The name Assaí was created from the Japanese word ASAHI, which means rising sun. This is also why the logo features the design and colors of the sun.
In 1976, the Eletroradiobraz chain was acquired, which was the largest chain of electronics and appliances in Brazil. Additionally, the first generation of hypermarkets in Brazil, the Jumbo stores, was launched.
Finally, in 1978, the group purchased the supermarket chains Superbom, Peg-pag, and Mercantil. In the following years, the company continued to acquire other companies and grow. By 1981, the retail stores of the chain merged, forming Companhia Brasileira de Distribuição (CBD).
At the end of the 1980s, Grupo Pão de Açúcar chose to close the Jumbo stores, but in 1989, it created the Extra stores, aiming to compete in the hypermarket sector. Additionally, due to family disagreements, the Group underwent a restructuring.
In 1995, the company went public and raised $112.1 million. Interestingly, this was the first issuance of preferred shares by a food retail company on Bovespa.
Later, in 1997, Pão de Açúcar managed to raise $172.5 million on the New York Stock Exchange. It was the first retail company to list ADRs in NY. After going public, the company continued to grow through the acquisition of other companies.
By 1999, with a 25% stake in total shares, the Casino group became the majority shareholder of Grupo Pão de Açúcar. In 2000, the Pão de Açúcar Mais loyalty program was launched, the first loyalty program in Brazilian retail.
In 2001, online services became part of the Grupo Pão de Açúcar brands, and in 2002, the first pharmacies were opened inside Extra hypermarkets. Two years later, the first Extra gas station was inaugurated in the parking lot of the Extra in Mogi das Cruzes.
In 2003, Abilio Diniz took over as Chairman of the Board, and Augusto Marques da Cruz Filho became the first president not belonging to the founding family of the group.
Two years later, in 2005, the new holding company was created. Through it, Grupo Pão de Açúcar and the Casino group began to share the company equally. By 2009, Grupo Pão de Açúcar announced the acquisition of the Ponto Frio chain and in the same year merged with Casas Bahia.
Thus, it became the largest distribution group in Latin America. In 2013, Abílio Diniz announced his departure from Grupo Pão de Açúcar after reaching an agreement with Casino.
In 2014, the first Minuto Pão de Açúcar store was inaugurated, and the Clube Extra loyalty program was launched. In 2015, Assaí launched the Econobom brand, and in 2016, Grupo Pão de Açúcar launched Viva Vinhos, a wine subscription club.
Later, in 2017, GPA launched Meu Desconto, a platform that offers personalized offers for customers of Pão de Açúcar Mais and Clube Extra. In 2018, the following were launched: Meus Prêmios, Mercado Extra, Compre Bem, and Pão de Açúcar Adega.
By 2020, the GPA Marketplace, Prime James, and the start of operations of the Cheftime restaurant were launched. Finally, in 2021, the spin-off of Assaí occurred, allowing the creation of two completely independent companies: GPA and Assaí.
