Jerónimo Martins SGPS, SA (JM) is a Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

-based company that operates in food distribution

Grocery store

A grocery store is a store that retails food. A grocer, the owner of a grocery store, stocks different kinds of foods from assorted places and cultures, and sells these "groceries" to customers. Large grocery stores that stock products other than food, such as clothing or household items, are...

 and consumer product

Fast Moving Consumer Goods

Fast moving consumer goods or Consumer Packaged Goods are products that are sold quickly and at relatively low cost. Examples include non-durable goods such as soft drinks, toiletries, and grocery items...

s manufacturing

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...

. The firm is the majority owner of Jerónimo Martins Retail (JMR), which operates the Pingo Doce

Pingo Doce

Pingo Doce is the largest supermarket operator in Portugal with over 350 stores. It belongs to the Groupo Jerónimo Martins, which is owned by the name giving person Jerónimo Martins. In the 1990s he acquired Brazilian supermarket chain Sé Supermercados, which became the Brazilian equivalent to...

 super-

Supermarket

A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...

 and hypermarket

Hypermarket

In commerce, a hypermarket is a superstore combining a supermarket and a department store. The result is an expansive retail facility carrying a wide range of products under one roof, including full groceries lines and general merchandise...

 chains in Portugal. JMR has been run as a 51%-49% joint venture

Joint venture

A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...

 with the Dutch firm Ahold

Ahold

Ahold is a major international supermarket operator based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Ahold is listed on Euronext Amsterdam and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.-History:...

 since 1992; in November 2006 Ahold announced its intention to sell its interest but it continues to search for a buyer as of 2009.

Jerónimo Martins also owns the Biedronka

Biedronka

Biedronka is the biggest chain of no frills supermarkets in Poland , owned by the Portuguese company Jerónimo Martins. Literally, the name translates as ladybird which is the logo of the company....

 supermarket chain in Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 and has industrial facilities in Portugal focused on the production of several Unilever brands. This is carried out through the joint venture company Unilever Jerónimo Martins, which is 45% owned by JM and 55% owned by Unilever.

Within Portugal and Madeira

Madeira

Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...

, JM also owns the Recheio chain of cash-and-carry

Cash and carry (wholesale)

Cash and carry wholesale represents a type of operation within the wholesale sector. Its main features are summarized best by the following definitions:...

 stores.

Shares of Jerónimo Martins are listed on Euronext Lisbon

Euronext Lisbon

Euronext Lisbon is a stock exchange in Lisbon, Portugal. It belongs to the NYSE Euronext group, the first global stock exchange.Euronext Lisbon trades equities, public and private bonds, participation bonds, warrants, corporate warrants, investment trust units, and exchange traded funds...

 and form part of the PSI-20

PSI-20

The PSI-20 is a benchmark stock market index of companies that trade on Euronext Lisbon, the main stock exchange of Portugal. The index tracks the prices of the twenty listings with the largest market capitalisation and share turnover in the PSI Geral, the general stock market of the Lisbon exchange...

 index.

Former operations

It once owned Lillywhites

Lillywhites

Lillywhites is a sports retailer based at Piccadilly Circus, London, United Kingdom. It is currently a division of Sports Direct International.-History:...

, a British company focused on sports goods (sold in 2002 to Sports World International

Sports Direct

Sports Direct International plc is a British retailing group. Founded in 1982 by former county squash coach Mike Ashley, the company is now the UK's largest sporting retailer through a number of retail subsidiaries and sports equipment brands. Although now a publicly traded company on the London...

); a stake in Eurocash, a cash-and-carry in Poland; and Supermercados Sé, a supermarket chain in Brazil (sold to Grupo Pão de Açúcar in 2002).