Remediating impacts and channels for consumers to raise concerns

Consumers have access to dedicated channels, including the Companies’ customer support services, in-store contact points, the Customer Ombudsman’s Office, the Ethics Committee and the Ethics Offices, to raise concerns and express their needs, that are followed-up and responded. When we identify that we have caused or contributed to a material negative impact, we provide or cooperate in remediation (e.g., corrections to information or labelling, withdrawals/recalls where applicable, and process adjustments) and we assess the effectiveness of the response (e.g., by monitoring the number of interactions, topics raised, response/closure times, resolution rate and recurrence, and by collecting feedback from target users for continuous improvement).

These channels are communicated in the Companies’ stores, on their websites and/or through social media. The Customer Ombudsman’s Office also publishes its principles of independence, impartiality, neutrality and confidentiality, together with clear information about access type, the stages of the process, and multi-channel information. We have policies that prohibit retaliation against those who use these channels and have mechanisms in place to protect whistleblowers, ensuring user trust.

The Companies’ Customer Support Service (CSS) and the Jerónimo Martins’ Customer Ombudsman, including its local offices, are committed to addressing consumer grievances and concerns in a timely and effective manner, particularly in what concerns those related to the material topics identified in this subchapter (product quality and safety, product and service innovation, and product affordability).

The internal due diligence processes to remediate any actual or potential negative impacts from our brands’ products or services are described below.

Customer Support Services

Customer engagement is operationally managed by the CSS and by engagement teams where appropriate, with methodologies and reporting coordinated across the Companies. Communication between our Companies and their customers may also take place through direct contact in stores, particularly through the involvement of store management teams.

Customers can also contact the relevant CSS, specialised structures within each Company responsible for ensuring efficient and effective responses to their suggestions, compliments, ideas, requests for information, and complaints. These services are also dedicated to resolving situations related, among other things, to the day-to-day operation of brick-and-mortar stores, our e-commerce platforms, the services and products offered, and promotional campaigns. The CSS, as Company structures, resolve consumer complaints in a clear and transparent manner, prioritising swift solutions that are operationally appropriate and consistent with consumer rights.

Depending on the Company, the CSS may be contacted via email, website, telephone, digital apps, social media and other channels. Contact details are communicated in stores, on Private Brand product packaging, on receipts and, where applicable, on the Company’s website. All Companies have their data privacy policies published on their websites.

Pingo Doce’s Customer Support Service has been awarded the Quality Seal of the Portuguese Contact Centres Association since 2012. The dimensions assessed relate to the organisation, human capital, technology, operational monitoring, performance and continuous improvement, with Pingo Doce audited by an independent entity (Bureau Veritas).

The CSS aim to increase customer satisfaction, thereby strengthening trust in our Companies and brands, and to gather insights to better align our operations with consumer expectations through a structured process:

• Receipt of complaints – customers can submit complaints through multiple channels, which are received and promptly acknowledged by the CSS.

• Evaluation & Investigation – the CSS assesses the issue by gathering relevant information, identifying any potential root causes and determining whether a grievance is valid.

• Solution Proposal – where a grievance is considered valid, the CSS proposes a solution to resolve the issue. This may take the form of a clarification regarding the reported situation, a personalised apology, a discount offer through a voucher, a refund, or the replacement or repair of product, depending on the nature of the grievance and in line with the conclusions drawn from the diligence process carried out with the relevant functional areas.

• Implementation – once a solution is agreed upon, the CSS acts rapidly and keeps customers informed of its implementation progress.

• Improvement – the CSS reports information to the functional areas that can trigger the identification of improvement opportunities considering the customer experience and feedback, aimed at the continuous improvement of products, services and overall Companies’ operations.

The CSS management indicators are for internal use only. They may include the number of contacts handled, the type of contacts received (information requests, complaints and claims, compliments and suggestions), the main topics addressed, the most commonly used contact methods, the average resolution duration, the customer satisfaction rating, the net promoter score, and the resolution rate.

Customer Ombudsman

The Jerónimo Martins Customer Ombudsman’s Office is the highest level of recourse and mediation to the access of a customer for the analysis and resolution of complex and structural issues that have not previously been resolved through traditional channels, ensuring independence, impartiality, neutrality and confidentiality. This ensures that the outcomes of this mechanism can be integrated in the Companies’ management aiming at potential improvements to processes and policies. It is therefore the final level of recourse for resolving complex and structural issues, that fall outside the scope of the CSS or other channels, or that customers consider have not yet been fully resolved through those channels.

The mission of the Customer Ombudsman’s Office is to represent Jerónimo Martins Group customers, operating as a body independent from the Companies and their Customer Support Services. It is to the Ombudsman that customers can turn for the protection and promotion of their rights and legitimate interests. Guided by the principles of independence, impartiality, impartiality and confidentiality, the Customer Ombudsman’s Office, supported by a dedicated team, may issue non-binding opinions and recommendations aimed at ensuring the quality of the service provided by the Companies to their customers and at proposing initiatives to improve it. In Poland, a Local Customer Ombudsman forms part of the Customer Ombudsman team and that represents the rights and legitimate interests of customers in that country.

To assess the effectiveness of the mechanisms in place, the Ombudsman monitors experience and performance metrics, as well as systematises the learnings that can potentially be drawn from the cases. When there are agreements with the consumer or specific outcomes resulting from the Companies’ involvement, these are recorded and monitored until closure.

Customers can contact the Customer Ombudsman’s Office by email, telephone and via its website, that are advertised at both corporate and Company level, in stores and on its website. Its data protection and privacy policy is disclosed on its website.

Both the CSS and the Customer Ombudsman’s Office monitor key performance indicators from the day-to-day dialogue with customers to identify areas of improvement, which may include reviewing internal procedures and assessing the quality of products and services, and promotional campaigns. The Customer Ombudsman key performance indicators include¹:

• the number of new occurrences in the year and those that transitioned from previous years;

• the type of occurrences, categorised as complaints, requests for information, compliments and suggestions;

• the main topics addressed;

• Companies most impacted;

• the preferred contact channels used by consumers;

• the average time taken to respond;

• the resolution rate.

In 2025, the Customer Ombudsman’s Office handled 586 new occurrences, similar to that in 2024. A total of 1,298 occurrences were referred to the CSS, as they were mostly related to operational issues and required a first response from those services (13% more than in 2024). Around 1,102 occurrences did not fall within the scope of the Customer Ombudsman’s Office and were forwarded to the competent departments.

In total, 2,986 new occurrences were received by the Customer Ombudsman’s Office during the year, representing an increase of 18% compared to 2024. Approximately 33 were carried over from the previous year, totalling 3,019 cases handled. The resolution rate**, which measures the level of service provided, remained unchanged from 2024: 98.7% of the cases handled in 2025 were closed within the year.

The contact channels most used by customers to communicate with the Customer Ombudsman’s Office were email (69%), telephone (16%) and website (12%). The contacts received were classified as Complaints (92%), Requests for information (6%), Compliments (1%) and Suggestions (1%). Approximately 99% of occurrences involved Pingo Doce and Biedronka. The main topics² addressed by the Customer Ombudsman’s Office concerned product quality – particularly those related to non-food equipment – customer service, and store support services.

In 99% of the 2,507 processes closed in the year, customers received a response within 30 days.

In 2025, Jerónimo Martins websites, including those of the Ethics Committee and the Customer Ombudsman’s Office, were awarded the Digital Maturity Seal – Accessibility, with a Bronze classification, by Imprensa Nacional Casa da Moeda under the national model that evaluates cybersecurity, privacy, accessibility and sustainability. Jerónimo Martins thus became the first private entity in Portugal with digital accessibility certified by the independent body Associação Portuguesa de Certificação (APCER).³

Ethics Committee

The Ethics Committee enforces and monitors compliance with the Code of Conduct by all employees, given that its scope covers several business dimensions and regulates employee engagement with multiple stakeholders, including consumers.

Regarding the material impacts for consumers, the Code of Conduct commits the Group to adopting trade policies aimed at ensuring the protection of consumer rights in force under the legal systems of the countries where we operate, particularly in relation to product quality and safety standards, including ingredients, labelling, services and facilities.

The Ethics Committee provides a direct contact channel for receiving communications about potential or actual irregularities in relation to the provisions of the Code of Conduct and the Anti‑Corruption Policy. Through a dedicated website, which includes, among other information, a description of the stages of the reporting process and a list of answers to frequently asked questions, a whistleblowing mechanism is made available that contributes to strengthening a service culture grounded in values.

The activities of the Ethics Committee are governed by the Whistleblowing Policy and the Data Protection and Privacy Policy. Per the Data Protection and Privacy Policy, Jerónimo Martins is the data controller within the scope of managing reports of irregularities (whistleblowing) submitted through the Ethics Committee’s dedicated channel. In its turn, the Whistleblowing Policy establishes the rules governing the grievance process, clearly identifying how the Ethics Committee and the Ethics Offices ensure, among other aspects, the confidentiality of the whistleblowers’ identities and of any information that may directly or indirectly enable the identification of whistleblowers. These policies are available on our corporate website and are detailed in “Our policies”.

The reporting process of grievances includes the following steps:

• Once a report has been received by the Ethics Committee, the whistleblower receives an acknowledgement of receipt within a maximum of seven days;

• The appropriate internal steps are taken to assess the case;

• Follow up on a report by the Ethics Committee may include, for example, forwarding it to one or more of the Group’s other reporting channels (with the prior consent of the whistleblower), closing it due to a lack of evidence, opening an internal inquiry or forwarding it to a competent authority;

• Information on the follow-up of internal reports is shared with whistleblowers, to the extent legally permissible;

• Whistleblowers may be asked to provide further information during the inquiry;

• At the end of the investigation, a final report is drawn up with the findings;

• A response is sent to the whistleblower within a maximum of three months following the acknowledgement of receipt, or up to six months depending on the complexity of the case;

• Whistleblowers may request, at any time, to be informed of the result of the assessment made, within 15 days of its conclusion.

Effectiveness of the resolution mechanisms and measures proposed

The channels described above are guided by the principles of accessibility, accountability and transparency, observe:

• the respect for the law and consumer rights, including respect for human rights in terms of access to fair treatment, non-retaliation, non-discrimination and freedom of expression;

• the implementation of clear internal procedures for handling complaints, with designated teams and professionals;

• the analysis of potential systemic patterns to update and improve policies, processes, employee training, products or services, in order to prevent similar grievances in the future and to continuously improve the remediation process;

• the importance of maintaining an open and bidirectional channel of communication with customers regarding the grievance process.

Our Companies value dialogue with customers, addressing each case individually. We seek to understand the customer’s perspective and, whenever possible and in accordance with the law, reach a fair and mutually agreed solution. The attempted resolution can take the form of:

• a clarification regarding the reported situation;

• a personalised apology;

• a discount offer through a voucher, a refund, or the replacement or repair of products.

Our final response depends on the nature of the grievance and the conclusions drawn from the due diligence process carried out alongside the relevant functional areas and the Companies’ policies on these matters.

We believe that these interactions benefit both the consumers and our Companies, in the sense that they reinforce trust in our commitment to fair treatment and contribute to continuous improvements in our day-to-day service patterns.

For more information about the Ethics Committee’s mission, responsibilities and composition, see 29. “Description of the Powers of each of the Committees Established and a Summary of Activities Undertaken in Exercising Said Powers”. The statutes of the Ethics Committee, the whistleblowing policy, and all contact information are available on the Jerónimo Martins corporate website.

¹ The Customer Ombudsman’s key performance indicators are also disclosed on the Jerónimo Martins corporate website.

² The Topic Classification Table was revised in 2025, with historical data reclassified to enable comparable analysis.

³ For more information about the Digital Maturity Seal – Accessibility, visit the Imprensa Nacional Casa da Moeda website.