The Calleja Group took over 86.84% of the shares of Grupo Éxito through a Public Acquisition Offer (OPA) in Colombia and the United States.
This Friday Carlos Calleja Hakker, executive president of Súper Selectos in El Salvador and Éxito, made his first statement after the consolidation of control of Grupo Éxito by Grupo Calleja.
Grupo Calleja took over 86.84% of Grupo Éxito's shares through a Public Acquisition Offer (OPA) in Colombia and the United States.
“With great enthusiasm, faith and hope in Colombia, and in Colombian men and women, Grupo Calleja joins the great family of Grupo Éxito to continue generating value and contributing to the dignity of citizens. “We have a long-term vision to work as a large distribution platform in Latin America serving clients in El Salvador, Colombia, Uruguay and Argentina,” said the businessman.
Calleja assured that they believe “in the potential and promise that is Colombia”, in the Colombians and in the Grupo Éxito team. “We deeply trust the leadership and professionalism of the people who make up the company and we recognize the role of the company in the country and what it represents for the development of the nation.”
The businessman also highlighted the common values that companies have and the responsibilities they assume with the country and with their workers. “Éxito, the brand that gave life to Grupo Éxito, celebrates its first 75 years; Carulla has 119 and at the Calleja Group we are already working to ensure that those brands so loved by Colombians remain here and increasingly stronger in another 75 or 119 years; We are not going to see it, but our children, and the children and grandchildren of our colleagues will see it and will continue to serve Colombia in the best way,” he added.
The Calleja Group, according to the businessman, was born when “my father and grandfather ventured to buy the store where my grandfather worked as a butcher, there were 11 colleagues when we started the great Calleja family, today we are 55,000, working as a team. We have a long-term vision, and we will work non-stop with the goal of becoming an extension of our clients' homes in all the countries we touch and thus contribute to the construction of an entire region."
Carlos Mario Giraldo Moreno, until now president, will continue to lead Éxito Colombia's national operation as general manager. José Gabriel Loaiza Herrera will continue to lead the commercial and operational processes of the retail business in the country, as executive vice president.
The manager recalled that Grupo Éxito has more than eight million clients, nearly 36,000 collaborators and more than 6,600 suppliers. “As the General Manager of Grupo Éxito in Colombia, I will continue working as a team to contribute to the construction of a more competitive company every day,” he said.
