2024 RESULTS
Our banners worked tirelessly to offer the best savings opportunities, while reinforcing their commercial dynamic. Strong sales growth protected the Group’s profitability.
Sales
EBITDA
Net profit
Major taxpayer
Taxes paid in all countries where we operate
Major investor
Investment in business expansion
Major employer
New jobs created
EMPLOYEES
Listed in
Sustainability indices
CONSUMER-FIRST APPROACH
Our food retail strategy is based on a mass market approach, which means we are focused on growing volumes and offering the best savings opportunities for those who visit our stores every day.
We acknowledge that this strategic choice often puts additional pressure on our margins, but we never compromise on our price leadership. The best possible evidence that our business is consumer-focused and volumes-oriented rather than relying on high margins is mirrored in this breakdown exercise.
2024 IN A NUTSHELL
These are some of the stories that reflect another year of solid growth and demonstrate how we consistently place the consumer at the heart of everything we do.
Social | Product affordability
PRICE IS KEY
In the beginning of 2024, a decrease in food inflation, alongside a sustained cost inflation generated extra pressure on our business. On the other hand, consumer confidence remained weak in the markets where we operate, with consumers showing prudence and important price sensitiveness when shopping.
To push for sales, throughout the year our food distribution banners launched a total of 577 leaflets with weekly promotions for different product categories – the equivalent to more than a leaflet a day – together with 198 campaigns, which were primarily focused on price positioning, and also on rewarding those who trust our banners by continuously improving value-for-money.
The return of food VAT to 5% in Poland from 1 April 2024 was not felt by Biedronka’s consumers – the Company kept the prices of more than 4,000 products, absorbing the cost. At the same time, the Company also launched a campaign to ensure price reductions of more that 400 popular products.
To give customers an extra helping hand in their daily lives, Pingo Doce raffled 100,000 euros every week for four weeks. In September, after the summer holidays, the Company launched the “Subsídio Pingo Doce” (Pingo Doce Subsidy) competition, awarding 1,500 euros a day, every day.
On top of the strong in-store promotional campaigns implemented by Ara to enhance price perception, our Colombian Company also launched the “Aguinaldo” scratch cards awarding, which translated into vouchers to spend on products in Ara stores.
Social | Product safety & quality standards
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
With food playing a key role in overall health, consumers need to know what they are eating, and we must contribute with better options and knowledge sharing.
Committed to provide healthier products to consumers, Pingo Doce is the first food retailer in Portugal to have 100% of its Private Brand assortment free of artificial colouring and flavour enhancers. Biedronka’s commitment to “clean” labelling has been reinforced by the ongoing removal of superfluous thickeners, smoke flavouring and sweeteners from its Private Brand products.
The Jerónimo Martins Group has its own accredited Molecular Biology Laboratory in Portugal since 2021, the first of its kind in the country and a rare investment in Europe. Using Next Generation Sequencing, ingredient samples are tested to identify the DNA of animal and plant species, making it possible to trace products and ingredients back to the supply chain. Private Brand products from Pingo Doce, Recheio, Ara and Biedronka are analysed to tackle food fraud and adulteration, guaranteeing the safety and integrity of the food we offer to the millions of consumers that visit our more than 6,000 stores every day.
Social | Product and services innovation
THE LARGEST RESTAURANT CHAIN IN PORTUGAL… IS A SUPERMARKET
It is at the two Pingo Doce’s central kitchens in Portugal that Comida Fresca comes to life every day. Comida Fresca means Fresh Food and is Pingo Doce’s brand for ready-to-eat meals. Homemade soups, mains and desserts are prepared by more than 400 experienced cooks, supplying each Pingo Doce store every day. In the last two years, around 25% of Pingo Doce’s network has been converted to the All About Food concept, which devotes more space and visibility to ready meal solutions. In 2024, Comida Fresca became the largest restaurant chain in Portugal, with a total of 237 locations. The Comida Fresca website was also launched, enabling customers to see the daily menu of the restaurants nationwide, in addition to placing orders.
Governance | Sustainable & responsible criteria in the supply chain
SOURCING FROM LOCAL FARMERS
We strive to establish long-lasting and trusting relationships with our suppliers, considering them true partners in the goal of offering the best products to our consumers. More than 90% of the products we sell in each of the countries where we have mature food distribution operations come from local suppliers.
In Poland, Biedronka stood firm on its commitment to working with family farms. This programme, launched in 2021, focuses on sourcing directly from small local producers. In 2024, Biedronka signed over 70 new contracts, bringing the total number of active local producers to around 230. The value of such purchases has increased by 45% compared to 2023, reaching over 126 million units of products delivered to the Company’s stores.
In Portugal, Pingo Doce acquired more than 14,000 tonnes of nationally grown cherries, apples and kiwis, in line with 2023’s quantities, and reinforced the range of specialised perishables with national products of the vegetable, meat and aquaculture fish categories.
Ara also invested in relationships with local fruit and vegetable producers. In 2024, more than 95% of its purchases in this category were from domestic production.
Environment | Climate change
REDUCING OUR FOOTPRINT
Could you imagine a supermarket operating without refrigerators or freezers? Or a distribution centre without any refrigeration systems? A business like ours, which requires significant energy consumption, has a responsibility to seek the cleanest energy sources whenever possible. Investing in solar panels is an excellent way to reduce emissions, as the heat generated by the sun is a clean and renewable energy source that decreases dependence on fossil fuels.
In 2024, we expanded the installation of photo-voltaic panels in our stores and distribution centres. About one-third of our network of stores and distribution centres is already using this technology, with notable progress in Biedronka and Ara. The energy produced by these panels is for self-consumption, reducing the need to purchase energy from the market. The purchase of electricity from renewable sources and the modernisation of equipment that uses natural or low global warming potential refrigerant gases are other measures we continued to implement in 2024, a year in which more than half of our total energy consumption came from renewable sources. Thanks to these efforts, we were able to reduce our scopes 1 and 2 emissions by 15.8%, compared to 2023.
Environment | Packaging redesign for sustainable resource use
LESS PACKAGING MATERIALS, MORE IMPACT
To reduce the environmental impact and optimise production, transport and waste management costs of product packaging, we have been implementing our own ecodesign project for over a decade. Since its launch in 2011, we have avoided the use of more than 50,000 tonnes of plastic, paper, cardboard and other packaging materials as a result of the more than 2,300 changes made.
Due to increased transport efficiency, we calculate that the ecodesign project also helped avoid the emission of 6,882 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
With our closed loop project in Biedronka, used secondary packaging boxes made from cardboard are collected from our stores, which are then recycled and transformed back into raw material for the manufacture of new cardboard boxes used to display Private Brand products. With this circular economy project, in 2024, we collected 8,322 tonnes of cardboard and transformed it into more than 31.6 million new boxes.
Environment | Food waste
CUTTING FOOD WASTE FROM THE ROOT
As a food retailer, we understand that providing fresh food with the quality our customers seek and deserve requires extra care, as we carry products that are highly sensitive to temperature, expiry dates and handling methods. We believe the best strategy to tackle food waste involves engaging all elements of the value chain, from primary production and suppliers to our employees, consumers and the communities surrounding our stores.
Every day we donate surplus food to social institutions that have a deep understanding of local needs and are close to the most vulnerable communities. This initiative is in place across all companies within our Group and assures that food reaches people who really need it.
Instead of just being left to rot in fields, we also purchase that have exactly the same nutritional profile as the “pretty” ones. Most are used to make our soups in Portugal and Poland or transformed into convenient food solutions, such as pre-cut and washed vegetables ready for consumption.
Social | Engagement and supporting local communities
ONE MILLION REASONS TO SUPPORT COLOMBIA
In 2024, we made a significant social investment of one million euros to support initiatives aimed at combating food insecurity and assisting local communities in the country’s most vulnerable regions. The “One Million Reasons” programme is estimated to have benefited over 60,000 people, particularly children, young people and mothers.
Among the supported projects are:
- The construction of the first food bank in the Pacific region.
- The “Healthy Breakfasts” initiative in partnership with the Colombian food bank association.
- A collaboration with UNICEF for the “Children of the Future” project, improving school facilities in San Andrés, where half of school-aged children are not enrolled.
- A partnership with the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF) to support around 3,000 community mothers and fathers across 46 municipalities through gift cards redeemable for food.
Social | Labour rights and working conditions - own workforce
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
The Incluir Programme, launched in 2015 in Portugal, aims to create training and hiring opportunities for people with disabilities and/or impairments, migrants, refugees and people at social risk. The programme follows a methodology that is customised to each person and adapted to the roles available in each business area. Since its launch in 2015, the Incluir Programme has reached 2,059 people. In 2024, the programme saw 350 people involved, 92 of whom were hired.
In 2024, Biedronka integrated people with disabilities by introducing self-checkout assistant roles to support customers and ensure quality service. By year-end, 1,310 assistants were present in 427 stores.
Our companies in Poland also remained committed to integrating Ukrainian employees by establishing a dedicated team that supports the immigration process, provides language training, and offers tailored content and recruitment channels designed specifically for the Ukrainian community.
Social | Employee learning and development
GROWING FROM INSIDE
We believe that investing in the lifelong learning and personal and professional development of our own workforce is one of the most important decisions we can make as an employer.
We train our people in the fields best suited to serve their roles, from operations to leadership positions, having courses and training programmes in place, both in partnership with external institutions and using in-house know-how, in face-to-face and online formats. In 2024, our investment in developing our people’s capabilities and knowledge exceeded 17 million euros, resulting in over 8.9 million hours of training, equivalent to an average of 64 training hours per employee. With over 515,000 training courses, we reached 94.4% of our employees. More than 63 thousand people participated in the various perishables training programmes promoted by our Companies.
In what regards management and leadership roles, in 2024 more than 265 people were trained through the Be a Leader programme, created in partnership with the Centre for Creative Leadership (CCL), an investment of over 1.2 million euros.
We also share internal opportunities with our workforce, encouraging them to take a step further in their careers. In 2024, more than 42,000 employees changed position or role inside our businesses and over 7,000 were promoted to roles of greater responsibility.