Jerónimo Martins Group international opportunities

: a multinational group market selection decision process

Abstract

This case study has been designed based on the Jerónimo Martins Group situation between 2007 and 2011 with the objective of acting as a teaching supplement in the study of companies’ international opportunities, market selection and the internationalization decision process utilized to reach an optimal decision for a company. Jerónimo Martins was the main Portuguese group in the food retail and wholesale industry, present in supermarkets, cash & carries and discount stores, and operating in Poland and Portugal. In 2011 Portugal was suffering the consequences of an economic recession, while the Polish food retail market was starting to consolidate, with the Group’s Polish operations representing more than half of Jerónimo Martins Group’s revenue. This situation led the Group CEO, together with the Board of Directors, to decide to explore new market and business opportunities to ensure the Group’s long-term growth. The Group’s decision process took into account the Jerónimo Martins characteristics, objectives, strengths and competences in order to define and compare new opportunities. According to the Group’s strategy specialists, Brazil, Colombia and Turkey were the final three countries chosen as the most promising markets: one of them would fulfil the Group’s needs and hopefully ensure its balanced long-term future. The Jerónimo Martins case was developed using information provided by the Group and also by international economic institutions so as to provide students with the most accurate information enabling them to solve the case.

Date of Award	22 Feb 2013
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Nuno Cardeal (Supervisor)