Surely most Colombians know or have seen a store of the popular D1 warehouse. On the morning of this Friday, June 21, it was learned that The small red stores surpassed their closest rival in the retail market in Colombia: Almacenes Éxito.
This is according to the report of the 1,000 largest companies in Colombia, published by the Superintendency of Companies. The report highlights that it is based on financial information as of December 31, 2023. With this, it knows the financial situation with respect to assets, liabilities, equity, statement of comprehensive income and financial ratios of the companies to classify them.
Also read: Every day 1.6 million people buy at Tiendas D1
According to that list, D1 reached operating income of $17.42 billion in 2023. This meant that the company increased this figure by 24.8% compared to the $13.95 billion it obtained in 2022, which is undoubtedly good news for any businessman’s checkbook.
Furthermore, when carefully reviewing the data, it is noted that D1 achieved a feat that is surely important in the race to conquer and have a greater share in the market for retail In colombia: D1 obtained 1.69 billion more than Almacenes Éxito, which occupied box eight in the list of the largest companies.
El Éxito closed last year with operating income close to $15.73 billion, which translated into a growth of 15.8% compared to the record of $13.58 billion in 2022. It must be remembered that the iconic supermarket, which It has more than 75 years of history, it was recently acquired by Grupo Calleja, the leading supermarket chain in El Salvador.
Last year, Tiendas D1 achieved profits of $294,590 million, which exceeded those of the other brand, and also had assets of $5.6 billion.
The strategy
D1’s ace up its sleeve is its strong expansion strategy. In fact, this brand started discreetly in Antioquia with five stores, today it has close to 562 and close to 2,300 in Colombia. Only in 2022 they managed to open 240 points of sale. El Éxito has about 510 stores in the country.
D1 assures that their secret consists of closeness with their clients and a commercial relationship that they have developed with their suppliers to mutually benefit. The company, whose main shareholder is Valorem SA, of the Santo Domingo Group, has managed to be successful in its business model and position itself in the retail market to the point of being the competition of large supermarket chains that have been in the country for the longest time.
The red tent strategy consists of a model hard discount, which is known throughout the world as a concept of small businesses that have a limited offering, but at a more flexible price. This commitment has had a favorable response from customers, who welcome having access to local products at a more affordable price.
It must be taken into account that Jerónimo Martins, the Portuguese firm that owns Tiendas Ara, is the third largest retailer in Colombia. It was placed in box 12 of the 1,000 largest companies. It accumulated operating income of $12.3 billion in 2023. And it is hot on the heels of both Éxito and D1.
Read also: Tiendas Ara will invest 1 million euros in social programs
