Grupo Éxito Up For Sale

The important supermarket chain Éxito is up for sale. The recent announcement by the company’s management took many by surprise. Éxito, which also includes the Carulla, Surtimax, and Super Inter stores, is the fifth largest company in Colombia in terms of revenue.

After a year of rumors, the French company Grupo Casino, the owner of Almacenes Éxito, has finally confirmed its intention to jettison its subsidiaries in Colombia and Brazil. In the case of Colombia, this means selling the various companies that are part of the Grupo Éxito conglomerate.

Éxito employs more than 40,000 people in the country and significantly increased its revenue last year, reaching a record of 20.6 trillion pesos.

Cost of the operation

Currently, the details of the operation are unknown, and it is too early to speculate on the final value of the future sale. However, according to Víctor Grosso, a project management analyst and consultant, given the volume of sales and generated revenue, Grupo Éxito could reach a value of 1.3 billion dollars (approximately 5.4 trillion Colombian pesos).

The objective of the sale, according to the French parent company, is to “strengthen liquidity.” The group ended 2022 with a debt of 6.97 trillion dollars.

Grupo Éxito companies

The group’s businesses in Colombia consist of various divisions mainly related to the food sector:

• Shopping Centers: Viva and Mercado Éxito.
• Hypermarkets: Éxito, Éxito Wow!.
• Department Stores: Éxito Vecino.
• Supermarkets: Éxito Super, Carulla Freshmarket.
• Discount Stores: SurtiMax, Super Inter.
• Wholesale Warehouses: Surtimayorista.
• Convenience Stores: Éxito Express, Carulla Express, Éxito Outlet (only in Cali, Neiva, and Dosquebradas).
• Pharmacies: Droguerías Cafam.
• Specialty Stores: Éxito Tecno.
• E-commerce: Online stores exito.com and carulla.com.

Éxito, a supermarket historic in Colombia

On March 26, 1949, Antioquian entrepreneur Gustavo Toro Quintero founded the first Éxito store in Medellín. It started as a store dedicated to textile scraps and clothing. Since then, it has experienced rapid and exponential growth, expanding throughout the country until its initial public offering in 1994. The entry of the French group, the current owner, began in the late 1990s, and in 2007, they acquired the majority of shares and control of the business.

Shortly before that, in 2001, the purchase and subsequent absorption of Almacenes Ley provided a new boost. Something similar happened in 2010 when Éxito gained control of the Carulla supermarkets, although in this case, the commercial brand, which celebrated its 110th anniversary in 2015, was maintained.