GPA plans to invest up to $ 2 billion in 2014

The Grupo Pão de Açúcar (GPA) should not raise the investment ceiling in 2014 compared to the announced for 2013, and must apply up to $ 2 billion in the country next year. In a meeting with analysts and investors yesterday, the retailer reported that the plan is to invest a value "very close" to initially reported for 2013, found the value with sources who were at the meeting. For this year, the GPA had already announced disbursements of more than $ 2 billion. Historically, over the past few years, the company has announced increases in the estimate of annual investments.
Pestana no detailed reasons that motivate the probable maintenance of ceiling value of investments during conversations with analysts yesterday. But in commenting on the Group's strategic planning for the period from 2014 to 2016, the company reinforced the intention to reduce disbursements per store, with the "optimization of investments" in the opening of new units of the group. I.e. spend less per square meter built. The President of the GPA still reported that the company should not reach the maximum value of announced investments in 2013. "We had difficulties to open new points," he summed up.
The company also reported that it must open up to 655 stores in the country between 2014 and 2016, and from this total 400 shops should be supermarkets, hypermarkets and Extra mini market units, according to the strategic plan period. The prediction is that, of these 400, 360 points are points of minimarkets, 20 of Extra Supermarket and Extra Hypermarket and supermarket chains Pão de Açúcar 20. The Group also provides 12 to 15 stores a year wholesale flag Assaí, adding up to 45 points in three years.
Still more is expected of the network units 210 retail (Casas Bahia and Ponto Frio)-a sum total, therefore, of up to 655 new stores. The number must overcome, handily, the registered in the previous three years (from 2011 to 2013), that's because in previous years, the GPA swapped the banner of a large volume of points, especially for minimarkets. And that should change, with accelerated opening of new minilojas.
According to the value found, on the basis of the information of the meeting held yesterday, the GPA must have two models of operation to the minimarket in Brazil. The idea is to have a store format, with the current brand Minimarket in neighborhoods of Extra classes C and D, and another small store format to the neighborhoods of class A and b. it is possible that the company use a different flag in these small shops Group considered "premium", according to investors attending the meeting. Is something similar to what the Casino, GPA, controller does in France, with different models of stores for different audiences by neighborhood.
The Group also considers the possibility of reducing the size of the Pão de Açúcar supermarket in the coming years. Current sizes range from 1.3 to 1.5 thousand square meters and this could be reduced by half, for 600 to 700 square feet, which can accelerate the process of organic growth of the Group's supermarkets, which finds difficulties in advance by the high cost of land in noble areas, the region where the flag.
The company further commented that works to become, in 2014, the second largest wholesale network of the country with the Assam network and bypass the Makro, based on their expectations of results. For the e-commerce operation, up to three years, the plan is to overcome B2W with the operation of the sites of the new Dotcom (Casas Bahia, Ponto Frio and Extra.com).