During a conference call on its first quarter results, GPA, the Brazilian retail group that controls chains Pão de Açúcar, Extra and Assaí, announced its entry into the food marketplace area for the next quarter. 

According to Valor Econômico, the retailer also informed that it will not reduce investment plans for 2020. 

The group had a 14.7% increase in revenue, to BRL 14.5 billion, after a March favored by high demand during the pandemic. But expenses generated with restructuring affected the results. From January to March, there was a consolidated loss of BRL 109 million.

On Wednesday, Via Varejo, the parent company of Casas Bahia and Ponto Frio stores, posted a net profit of BRL 13 million, which was the company’s first positive result since the second quarter of 2018. Via Varejo, which does not rely on groceries, achieved a 20-point gain in online market share in the second week of April, according to GfK.