This article was developed by the team of Food Retail Italy, official representative of the international fairs Cibus y TuttoFood Milan in Latin America.
ARA Stores This is another example of how to format the format in Colombia discount It is consolidating its leadership, making it difficult for the large traditional formats.
La proximity it has been converted into the concept of match for all retailers committed to this market environment. The case of Tiendas Ara is symptomatic.
The Portuguese group made important reversals in Colombia which, during the first few years, found it difficult to clear. In Europe we know that this is an absolutely normal process: when a multinational company mass market retail enters a new market, pays the price of ignorance of the territory - in a broader sense - which includes not only the consumer, but also local expertise.
The hybrid formula with which Ara attempted to open the market — a broad presence of private label in a context not dominated by industrial brands— it didn't make it easier, and it was the Colombian consumer who oriented the format towards the most rentable route.
The previous years, marked by a strong inflation and by an evident “trading down” in consumer behavior, they accentuated the dislocation of the private brand.
The result of 2024 is clearly positive.
In this article we analyze the current state of Tiendas Ara, but above all the evolution of the Jerónimo Martins Group, which operates in various countries with disparate results. To continue, the truth behind the numbers of the group at the global level and, in particular, in Colombia.
FOOD RETAIL ITALY AT FERIA PRIVEL MADRID 5-6 November – Pabellón 7 – Stand nr. 7A27A
El ejercicio 2024 de Jerome Martins if it comes with a positive evolution it will weigh on the European deceleration.
consolidated sales cost 33.464 million euros, an + 9,3 % compared to 2023, while the EBITDA rose to 2.232 million (+2,9%), with an operational margin of 6,7 % (before 7,1% of the previous year).
El net profit it was of 599 millones de euros, affected by the extraordinary endowment of 40 million a new one Jerónimo Martins Foundation.
The international expansion of the group continues in three directions: leadership in Poland, solidity in Portugal and accelerated growth in Latin AmericaWhere Search if it has been converted into the main engine of incremental profitability.
Colombia: Ara continues to generate benefits and accelerates its expansion
In a macroeconomic context everything would be complete —PIB +1,7%, average inflation of 6,6%, average of 10,2%— Ara consiguió increase its sales by 11,1% in Colombian pesos and by 17% in euros during 2024, reaching the 2.850 millones de euros.
El EBITDA doubled (+113%), with a margin of 3,4% vs. 1,9% of the previous year, marking el return to operational profitability Over a base pre-IFRS16.
The growth was based on a clear strategy: strengthen the price position and broaden the penetration of the own brand as a response to the deterioration of the hogares' purchasing power.
During 2024, the company opened 150 new ties (148 nets) y exceeded 1.438 points of sale, please put it in gear nuevo centro de distribución, as the construction of other logistics platforms progresses by 2025.
In 2025, Ara Shops kept a Accelerated expansion strategy in Colombia, driven by the finalization and opening of the new key logistics centres which optimized their operational capacity and national abastecimiento.
Only in the first half of the year, chain it incorporated 96 new points of saleIncluding 58 locations from the integration of Colsubsidio supermarkets, which allowed exceed 1.530 ties in the middle of the year.
The opening pace was kept high throughout the exercise, with predictions of close 2025 for up to 1.600 ties, marking a historical record of growth for the discount format in the country.
This evolution confirms that Ara has consolidated like the other operator of major organic expansion of Colombian retail, supported by a modern logistics infrastructure and a highly efficient commercial proposition.
Logistics capacity and expansion: the new vertebral column of the macaw
Tiendas Ara's fortress in this new age is based on a completely transformed red logistics, designed to accompany the growth of its red business and guarantee efficient national coverage.
El Palmira logistics center (Valle del Cauca), inaugurated in May 2024 and fully operational in 2025, has become the neural distribution point of the Colombian South West. With para capacity abastecer hasta 200 tiendas, integrates cold and dry areas, 21.000 square meters of built surface and more than 1.400 solar panels that convert it into a sustainable installation.
In parallel, the Cota Center (Cundinamarca) Construction finalized in the first half of 2025. Strategically located to serve Bogotá y la región centro, it was conceived to be more effective 250 stores, significantly reducing shipping times and optimizing logistical costs. This installation represents a superior inversion to those 300 million thousand Colombian pesos, consolidating Ara as one of the country's most advanced divisions in distribution infrastructure.
Further north, the Girardota logistics center (Antioquia) We are advancing towards the final stage of implementation and hope to enter into operation by the final stages of 2025. This function will be key to supporting the expansion in Antioquia, the Atlantic Coast and the west of the country, with a projected capacity for wait between 180 and 200 days.
These three pillars —Palmira, Cota and Girardota— will allow Ara to obtain integral logistical coverage throughout the Colombian territory. In addition to ensuring efficient storage and availability of fresh, frozen and own-brand products, the new red will allow the company endure peaks of regional demand and improve the levels of service at points of sale.
Thanks to this infrastructure, Ara estimates power increase your annual sales to between 400.000 and 600.000 additional thousand pesos, consolidating its leadership position in the national discount store.
Conclusion
The results of 2024 and the first half of 2025 confirm that Jerome Martins has achieved an operational hardness that allows it to support growth even in divergent scenarios.
La Colombia de Ara has become the new strategic frontera of the group, combining social impact, logistical efficiency and sustainable expansion.
With a modern distribution network and an adaptable shop model, You are prepared to lead the next phase of retail sales in Latin America, driving the future of the Portuguese group from the heart of Southern America.
