MADRID, 21 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -
The Dia Group's subsidiary in Brazil, Dia Brasil, has submitted a request for "judicial recovery", a restructuring process under Brazilian law to try to overcome its current economic and financial situation, after the closure of 343 stores, as reported by the company. to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).
The group has explained that the request for "judicial recovery" is limited exclusively to Dia Brasil, so it does not impact the financial situation of Spain and Argentina, where it has currently achieved "a relevant position with a strategy focused on the food distribution of proximity".
Specifically, this procedure is a regulated alternative in Brazil whose purpose is to try to help the continuity of the operation in companies with economic and financial difficulties in said country.
This request comes after the communication on March 14 of the restructuring process in Brazil, due to the persistent negative results registered in the Rio country.
In this way, Dia Brasil decided to undertake the closure of 343 stores, 58% of the total, and three warehouses to try to give greater stability to its operation while waiting to define new strategic decisions.
With this measure, the group adjusted its perimeter in the Latin American country to concentrate its operation in the São Paulo area, where it has 244 supermarkets and where it has greater profitability, since the concentration of stores allows it to capitalize on the logistics network and reduce costs. costs.
The CEO of Grupo Dia, Martín Tolcachir, already announced at the end of February, after the presentation of the 2023 results, that his departure from Brazil was being evaluated after the negative impact that the Rio business has had on the annual accounts.
"We are evaluating different strategic options, but no decision has been made to date, but it will be taken throughout the year," said the group's CEO.
Tolcachir then acknowledged that the Brazilian business had "suffered" during the past year in a "really difficult" market context with a decrease in volumes, an intensification of commercial investment and promotional aggressiveness. "We have recorded results that are not in line with our expectations," he stressed.
Specifically, the group recorded net losses of 30 million euros in 2023, cutting those in 2022 by 94 million (-75.6%), a result that was negatively affected by the deterioration of assets in Brazil worth 60 million euros. millions of euros.
A disinvestment in Brazil, where it has 590 supermarkets (419 owned and 171 franchised), which would be added to those already carried out last year with the exit of businesses that they do not consider key in their business of betting on proximity such as large formats in Spain, where it sold 223 stores to Alcampo; the sale of Clarel to the Trinity Group, or the exit from Portugal, after the agreement reached with Auchan for the sale of the Minipreço stores.
The group has recalled that since its arrival in Brazil in 2001, it has made a "strong investment and effort in the country that has not obtained the expected return, persisting in recurring losses, a situation that has finally led to the decision to opt for the aforementioned judicial recovery process as a potential stabilizer of the situation of Dia Brasil".
In this way, the request for judicial recovery is limited exclusively to Dia Brasil, where the company has currently achieved a relevant position with a strategy focused on local food distribution.
