Portuguese in the ranking ““Jornal of Negotiations” He took a high, thirty-fifth place. He overtook, among others, current members of the Portuguese government – the current Minister of Finance Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, as well as the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of this country Paulo Rangel. His “vision and courage” that he showed in developing the Eurocash group in Poland were appreciated.
Portuguese entrepreneur took advantage of Jeronimo Martins resignation
Luis Amaral is the main shareholder of the Polish retail group Eurocash. The way in which he took over this group is inspiring. He previously worked as the general director at Jeronimo Martins, where he was involved in the creation of the Biedronka retail chain. Eurocash also belonged to this company. In 2003, together with a group of associates, he decided to make a management buyout of the Cash&Carry Eurocash wholesale chain from its then owner.
Jeronimo Martins was eager to sell the chain, because it was believed that when the market develops towards large-scale stores, including discount stores, the owners of local stores will have problems. Luis Amaral had a different opinion, he believed in their power and based on such stores as abc, Delikatesy Centrum, Inmedio, Duży Ben, Groszek, Lewiatan and Mila he built the position of Eurocash.
Eurocash is a domestic giant because the Portuguese believed in Polish entrepreneurs
– Since the early 90s, there was a conviction in Poland that domestic trade would quickly be dominated by large-scale stores, following the example of Western countries. However, I saw it completely differently. From the beginning, I noticed the enormous potential of Polish entrepreneurs, their determination and willingness to act. It was then that I set myself and my team the goal of creating a company thanks to which the owners of independent stores in Poland would be able to effectively compete with the increasingly aggressively growing large-scale chains – he said in 2019when he received the “Commercial Personality of the 30th Anniversary” award.
Currently, the Eurocash Group has over 16,000 branches throughout the country, making it one of the largest franchise and partner networks in the country. “85 percent of households in Poland are already within reach of all stores cooperating with the Eurocash Group,” the brand boasts on website. Eurocash shares are listed (since February 2005) on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.