GPA SA , Brazil's biggest retailer, expects the gross profit margin of its food business to remain at the level seen in the second quarter, executives said on Thursday.
Under the command of France's Casino SA, GPA's supermarkets, hypermarkets and convenience stores have adopted a more aggressive pricing strategy, sacrificing gross margin to win market share as consumer demand stagnates.
On a conference call to discuss second-quarter earnings, Chief Executive Officer Ronaldo Iabrudi added that GPA should meet its 2014 targets for new stores and store expansions, investing "just under" 2 billion reais ($900 million) this year.
