March 1st, 2015

Cencosud: Without limits to dream

“The Colombian purchase is a unique opportunity we can't let go" -Horst Paulmann, founder and President, Cencosud

Carrefour Colombia: An Opportunity Arises

Juan Manuel Parada felt restless. As the newly appointed CFO of Cencosud, he had just received a report that could change the course of the company. It contained information on Carrefour, the world’s second-largest retailer and competitor of Cencosud. Looking to cut costs and debt, due to the difficult economic situation in Europe, Carrefour was contemplating whether to sell its Colombian operations. Present in Colombia since 1998, Carrefour operates 72 hypermarkets, 16 convenience stores and 4 cash and carry stores in the country. Although Cencosud had no current plans to grow through acquisitions in Colombia, this deal would allow them to penetrate the market in a way that wouldn’t have been possible via organic growth. Furthermore, Carrefour stores share a similar format to Cencosud stores, which would make them a good fit with Cencosud’s current operations.

Juan Manuel worried that disclosing this information to the board could lead Horst Paulmann, Founder and President of Cencosud, to make a hasty decision. This could be Juan Manuel’s first acquisition and he didn’t want it to be a value-destroying one. Carrefour’s Colombian operations represented a large asset that would require Cencosud to undertake more debt than usual. He needed time, to put together a valuation but knew he didn’t have much. Since he had this report, it meant that other competitors also did. He needed to reach a conclusion fast or risk Wal-Mart and Falabella beating them to the punch.

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Competitive Landscape

Retail industry and major players in Chile

The retail industry in Chile is highly competitive and developed, and has grown significantly in the last 20 years through the consolidation of strong local players and with little presence of international players. Financial services associated to the retail business, including credit cards and loyalty programs, are strong in Chilean retail, and have been determinant for the success of local players, and at the same time, have been an important reason of the failure of international players trying to set foot in the Chilean retail industry. Giant retailers JCPenney, Home Depot, and Carrefour are some examples.

The Chilean retail industry can be divided into three main categories: department stores, supermarkets, and home improvement. The total retail market as of 2011 is valued near $25 billion and has experienced a sharp growth in the past years, motivated by high GDP growth rates, 5.8% and 5.8% in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Market projections show the growth in food retail to be 7.3% and 3.5% for the apparel retail in the 2013 – 2018 period I. This is in line with the healthy economy of Chile, which has presented consistent growth in-hand with a stable political environment, wide access to credit, and solid growth projections for coming years.

The two dominant retail players in Chile, with activities in all the three retail categories, are Falabella and Cencosud. These two conglomerates face competition in the department stores and home improvement categories from smaller and local players, with a more focused approach in a particular segment. However, in the supermarket segment, the two dominant players compete against giant Wal-Mart. In addition, Falabella and Cencosud face competition from SMU, a group formed from a series of mergers between 12 smaller regional supermarket chains. Please refer to Exhibit 1 that contains a table summarizing the main characteristics of the largest retail players in Chile.

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Chilean Consolidation and diversification

The period between the years 1990 and 2005 is referred as the “golden years” for the retail industry in ChileII. Leading players developed a consolidation and high growth strategy that was executed both via acquisitions and organic growth. Big technological improvements made a significant difference in terms of cost efficiency, and positioned the principal players a huge step ahead of the rest of the competitors. The incorporation of code bars and laser readers by 1991 was vital to improve stocking and inventory efficiency, and also the development of distribution centers that solved logistic issues for the chains that were expanding within the countryIII.

By the mid-90s in the supermarket segment, “Lider”, now Wal-Mart, followed a strategy leaned to organic growth. Santa Isabel, acquired by Cencosud in 2003, acquired smaller regional chains Multimarket and Marmentini Letelier. By 2004, Falabella entered the supermarket arena by acquiring Supermercados San Francisco, later on rebranded as Tottus, now with 64 stores in Chile and Peru IV.

In the Department Stores segment, Cencosud made a key consolidation move in April 2005. The company acquired Falabella’s main competitor, Almacenes Paris, for $950 million. This acquisition allowed Cencosud to enter the department store and retail financial services businessesV.

The home improvement is the most fragmented of the three segments, however we have seen huge resources devoted by the big players in order to consolidate their presence in this business. Cencosud formed “Easy” by 1993 and followed an organic growth strategy with a combination of small acquisitions of some of the Chilean assets of The Home Depot and ProTerra in 2000. On the other hand, Falabella took an aggressive move in 2003 by acquiring Sodimac, the leader in this segment, a transaction valued in $2.5 billionVI. To further consolidate, Falabella acquired Imperial in 2008.

As conclusion, in this 1990 – 2005 period we can observe that the largest Chilean players were filing the market rapidly and diversifying their presence in the retail industry to its three segments. The evident growth strategy in order to continue having such successful rates was to tap other markets in Latin America. However,

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there they would face other country risk, market dynamics, competitors and particularities from each the markets.

Latin American playersArgentinaEfforts to rebuild credit following the financial and political crises of 1999-2002 had a positive impact on consumer expenditure and, consequently, retail sales in ArgentinaVII. However continuous economic and political issues, and rising inflation rates challenged the development of the retail sector, especially for foreign companies. Nevertheless, three main players in the supermarket segment, Carrefour, Cencosud and Wal-Mart, are foreign. The total food retail market for 2011 was valued at $33 billionVIII.

Both the department store and the home improvement segments are not well developed in Argentina due to consumer’s preferences to shop in smaller local and specialized storesIX. Falabella is the only significant department store with an income of $511 million in 2011. The group is also present with Sodimac and competes against Easy (Cencosud) in the home improvement segment.

BrazilBrazil is the world’s third-biggest grocery market, next only to America and China, with strong players operating in the market, both foreign and domesticX. The food retail market in Brazil for 2011 had total sales for $128 billionXI. Global retailers such as Wal-Mart compete against domestic market leaders like Pão de Açúcar. In terms of market share, Pão de Açúcar has of about 18% of the market; the French retailer has about 14.5% and Walmart 12%XII. Competition is expected to intensify in the next few years as the supermarket penetration remains low at 40%, significantly lower than the 70% penetration achieved in Chile.XIII

Strong local players such as Casa Bahia, Lojas Americanas, and Companhia Hering characterize the department stores segment in Brazil. The apparel retail market in Brazil had $37 billion in sales for 2011XIV.

ColombiaSince the beginning of the new century, the Colombian market has been expanding very rapidly. Growth in personal income and changes in purchasing habits led Colombia to become one of the most attractive markets in the region.XV Market researchers expect the food retail in Colombia to grow 6.7% CAGR (see Exhibit 2

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for projections) in the 2013-2018 periodXVI. International players mainly make up the retail industry, and given its high growth potential market researchers expect this trend to continue. For the coming years, market researchers expect a good environment for international investment in Colombia because of GDP expansions above Latin America’s average, a controlled inflation, decreasing unemployment rates and a healthy financial system.

Grupo Exito, who owns 61% of the market share, dominates the supermarket segment, Carrefour follows with 19%, Olimpica, with 15%, and La 14, with 5%. Total food retail market was $58.2 billion in 2011XVII. The two main department stores are the Chileans Falabella and La Polar. Finally, Chilean players Falabella and Cencosud, with their respective brands Sodimac and Easy, also dominate the home improvement segment XVIII.

MexicoMexico is a hybrid country, where new, world-class retail development shares the street with an estimated 2.3 million single-shop stores and traditional markets. Still, it is a very attractive market due to its large and growing middle class populationXIX. Food retail in Mexico is a market with total sales of $151 billion in 2011XX with the major players being WalMex, Organizacion Soriana, Chedraui and ComerciXXI.

The department store segment, especially in the apparel component has experimented moderate growth in recent years, however it is expected to growth slightly in the 2011 – 2016 period at a 2.9% CAGRXXII. The main department stores players are Liverpool, Suburbia, Sears and El Palacio del Hierro.

PeruRetail industry prospects in Peru are very attractive. Real wages in Peru are expected to growth twice the average of Latin America’sXXIII. This, combined with the lowest penetration of “developed” retail, makes the country tempting to new players. The three main players in the supermarket segment are Wong, acquired by Cencosud in 2007 for $468 million, Supermercados Peruanos, and Falabella’s Tottus. Chilean’s Falabella and Ripley dominate the department stores segment. Finally, Sodimac followed by local Maestro leads the home improvement segment.

Cencosud: A leader is bornIn 1976 Horst Paulmann, a German immigrant, opened the first hypermarket “Jumbo” in the south of Chile. Little did he know that five decades later his company

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would be recognized as one of the largest and most prestigious retail conglomerates in Latin America. With over 800 stores, 25 shopping centers, 4.2 million credit cards issued and 130,000 employees in 5 countries1, Cencosud is a force to be reckoned with. It has acquired over ten companies in the past. The company offers more than 450 thousand products through diversified business segments and 15 brand names present in 5 countries (Exhibit 3 shows a breakdown of brands by country). Additionally, it had a very strong financial performance in 2011 with $15.6billion in revenues and an EBITDA of $1.287 billion that has increased by more than 3x since 2005XXIV.

Cencosud: Multi-Format StrategyCencosud currently operates five lines of business (Exhibit 4 specifies revenue and EBITDA breakdown by business line):

1. Supermarkets: Its most relevant business division with over 720 stores across 4 countriesXXV. They have a quality-service and quality-price strategy that helps them segment customers. It holds brands such as “Jumbo”, “GBarbosa”, and “Disco” that are well known and have high customer recognition.

2. Home improvement: Founded in 1993, it is the second most important business division with over 80 stores in Argentina, Chile, and Colombia. Stores offer products and services oriented to improve and/or maintain home. Its main brand is “Easy”.

3. Department stores: In 2005 Cencosud began its participation in this industry by acquiring Chilean department store chain Almacenes Paris. The division is primarily focused in Chile. Stores’ main activity is the retail sale of clothing, appliances, electronics and technology. By the end of 2011 the company successfully completed a phase of its ambitious expansion cycle with the acquisition of Johnson department stores in Chile.

4. Shopping centers: With over 20 shopping centers in Chile, Argentina, and Peru the shopping center division represents 2% of revenues. Cencosud seeks to promote flow of consumers through additional stores by having “Jumbo” and “Easy” as anchors in its shopping malls. Cencosud’s desire to ensure that their customers have a superior shopping experience has led to

1 As of December 31, 2011

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the creation of its Costanera Center, the tallest building in Latin America, expected to open in the second quarter of 2012.

5. Financial Services: Encompasses mainly credit card and consumer finance operations, as well as insurance. With over 4.2 million credit cards issued, this business segment represents 3% of revenues. The main objective is to strengthen the relationship with clients by offering a more complete service and generating greater added value from the synergies that exist between all subsidiariesXXVI.

Cencosud: Business Strategy

The company’s business strategy resides in leveraging the competitive advantages of all business lines to provide consumers with exceptional shopping experiences. To accomplish this Cencosud focuses on five key pointsXXVII:

1. Continue developing a multi-format and multi-brand strategy: this allows Cencosud to offer a wide range of products and brands associated with different shopping experiences therefore achieving consumer loyalty as well as benefiting from synergies between the different business units.

2. Centralize efforts in continuing to increase margins: focus on operational efficiency and rationalization of distribution capacity making use of the increasing economies of scale to obtain favorable buying conditions.

3. Continue organic growth and new acquisitions: Take advantage of its well-known brand portfolio and reputation to continue with its aggressive plan of organic growth, leveraging significant opportunities to expand their presence in Peru and Brazil.

4. Obtain synergies through the integration of our acquisitions: Achieved synergies and cost savings by integrating acquisitions with operations in Chile and Argentina.

5. Improve service commitment and customer satisfaction: Given the highly competitive nature of the retail business Cencosud is looking to attract and retain customers through combination of quality products, good service, reasonable prices and attractive shopping environment. In order to anticipate customer demand, the company plans to improve its information technology systems, databases and CRM.

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International expansionCencosud’s geographic diversification campaign has allowed the firm to ensure its growing participation in Latin America. Organic growth in neighbor countries plus a sequence of key acquisitions positioned the firm, 3 decades later, as one of the most prestigious and profitable retailers in the region (Exhibit 5 provides a timeline from 1976 to 2012). After this period of continued growth, the company maintains international operations in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Peru (Exhibit 6 presents Cencosud’s revenues by country).

1982 – 2001: Organic growth in ArgentinaDuring this period, and despite Argentina’s continued economic and political challenges, Cencosud underwent an aggressive growth plan in the country. The company’s expansion plan in Argentina started in 1982 when the company opened the first hypermarket, Jumbo, an almost 100,000 square-foot facility. The country was experiencing triple-digit inflation, but Buenos Aires had more inhabitants than all of Chile and thus, represented a good business opportunity to boost international revenues. XXVIII

In 1988, Cencosud recognized the value of a multi-format strategy and a multi-brand strategy (Exhibit 7 provides Cencosud brands and their market position) and inaugurated its first shopping center, Unicenter, a 987,811 square-foot facility of rentable space. XXIX The success of Unicenter plus the desirable economic conditions remaining in Argentina, where inflation had ended, led Cencosud to focus most of the company’s international growth in Argentina. Between 1993 and 2001, the firm opened 10 commercial centers, 8 in Buenos Aires, 1 in the province of Neuquen and 1 in the city of Mendoza.XXX

2002 – 2006: Acquisitions in ArgentinaIn 2002, the company started its acquisition process by taking over four Home Depot stores and converting them into Easy stores. This move represented a big step for Cencosud, who took loans from 4 different banks to pay the $90 million acquisition. XXXI

Argentina’s currency problems forced foreign investors, such as Wal-Mart and Casino, to freeze further expansion in Argentina. Cencosud took advantage of the static business environment and in 2004 acquired Disco, the nation second largest supermarket chain, which accounted for 19.2% of the market share. XXXII

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By early 2006, as the Argentine recession was threatening to slow down Cencosud’s growth, the firm started looking into alternative markets to continue its expansion process in Latin America.

2007 – 2011: Expansion to Colombia, Peru and BrazilCencosud decided to enter the Colombian market in 2007 through a joint venture with giant French retailer Casino. Cencosud hold a 70% stake in this partnership and Casino the remaining 30%. The rationale behind this strategic alliance, called Easy Colombia, was two-fold. First, Cencosud wanted to take advantage of Casino’s local market knowledge. And second, both parties wanted to set a framework to potentially enter other markets in Latin America.XXXIII

The same year, the company entered the Peruvian market, when it acquired Grupo Wong, the top operator of supermarkets and shopping centers. The $500 million acquisition allowed Cencosud to become the largest supermarket operator in the country.

Expansion in Brazil helped Cencosud to position the firm as a regional retail powerhouse. Growth came in large part from a steady acquisition campaign, which cost the company over $2 billion. XXXIV In 2008 the firm purchased the GBarbosa chain and two years later the firm added Perini, Mercantil Rodrigues, Super Familia and Bretas supermarket chains, which allowed the firm to double its presence in Brazil.XXXV Recently, in 2011, the company acquired the Cardoso supermarket chain and took over Prezunic in Rio de Janeiro. This last move allowed Cencosud to become the fourth largest supermarket chain in Brazil, after Pão de Açúcar, Carrefour Brazil and Wal-Mart Brazil.

Looking ahead: Growth in current markets vs. untapped marketsCencosud has been considering the idea of expanding into new markets. Mexico represent an attractive destination for Cencosud due to its growing middle class, a retail sector that is expected to grow by 12% by 2014 and a population of 110 million people. XXXVI However, it has also proved to be one of the most challenging markets in Latin America for the retail sector. Many multinational players, like Carrefour, have been unsuccessful in exploring the Mexican market, where the $49.4 billion WalMex, the largest grocery store chain in the country, rests strong and dominates.XXXVII Additionally, entering the Mexican market would require a significant investment for Cencosud. Another market Cencosud is considering is

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Panama. The country has become one of the fastest and best managed markets. While the country population doesn’t reach the 3.5 million people, a US dollar-based economy and the rapid growth in infrastructure and real state might position Panama as a very attractive destination for Cencosud.XXXVIII

At the same time, penetration of the retail sector in Brazil, Colombia and Peru remains low.2 While the company understands additional acquisitions will be required to consolidate its presence in these markets and close the gap with local competitors, Cencosud has to be careful when choosing its next step. Should they continue pursuing its aggressive diversification strategy and expand into new markets, or should they consolidate its market position in Peru, Colombia and Brazil?

Carrefour ColombiaCarrefour is a French multinational retailer headquartered in Boulogne Billancourt, France, in Greater Paris. It’s one of the largest hypermarket chains in the world (with 1,452 hypermarkets at the end of 2011), the fourth largest retail group in the world in terms of revenue (after Wal-Mart, Tesco and Costco), and the third in profit (after Wal-Mart and Tesco). In 1973 it began its international expansion by opening its first hypermarket in Spain, under the store Pryca banner. Later on 1975, Carrefour arrived to Latin America by opening a hypermarket in Brazil.

The still undergoing European crisis damaged Carrefour’s European operations. Carrefour has struggled in recent years with lower sales and strategic mistakes. Analysts attribute its poor performance to overreliance on its outdated hypermarkets and to fierce competition in Western Europe. The newly appointed CEO, George Plassat, has a three-year plan where he will prioritize lowering the company's financial costs and review the company's operations in some markets.

Carrefour Colombia (see Exhibit 8 for financial information) proved to be a successful venture, since its arrival in Colombia in 1997 the company operates 72 hypermarkets, 16 convenience stores and 4 cash and carry store with some 400,000 sqm of sales area, representing revenues over $2 billion, establishing itself

2 As of December 2011

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as the second largest supermarket chain in Colombia with a market share of some 17%XXXIX.

Cencosud and the Colombian market

Although Cencosud has displayed a longtime interest in growing its presence in Colombia, the firm has not been successful in penetrating the market. In 2006, Cencosud offered to buy 25% of Almacenes Exito (Colombia’s food retailer). However, the offer didn’t go through and Almacenes Exito remained in the hands of the Casino Group and the Toro Family. The next year, Cencosud secured a joint venture agreement with the Casino Group to develop Cencosud’s home improvement stores in Colombia. However, the partnership has been unsuccessful in growing the number of stores due to real state unavailability in urban areas. On June of this year, the Company manifested its interest of expanding its business in Colombia, but they explicitly mentioned that there were no acquisition plans in this country for the nearest future.

Principal players interested in the transaction

After several months of work, on September 2010, Credit Suisse distributed invitations to strategic participants to take part in the sales process of Carrefour Colombia. This meant that the process was going to be a very competitive one. Cencosud knew its rivals, Wal-mart and Falabella, were interested in growing its operations in the Colombian market. Cencosud understood that, if they finally decide to go ahead with the acquisition, they would have to bear some additional risks in order to beat its competitors and secure its offer.

Going forwardJuan Manuel was at a crossroads. The acquisition of Carrefour Colombia was certainly a unique opportunity for Cencosud to penetrate the growing Colombian market (Exhibit 9 details growth perspectives in the Colombian market). It would allow them to enter the supermarket sector, but also, by acquiring real state in urban areas, they could grow the home improvement and shopping center segments.

However, Juan Manuel recognized certain risks. This transaction would represent the largest acquisition in the history of Cencosud. Although the firm has proved to be an

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extraordinary supermarket operator, this acquisition would stress Cencosud debt levels and would probably require a capital increase. Also, Cencosud could not continue operating with the Carrefour brand. The firm would have to invest in a massive marketing campaign to introduce Cencosud brands, Jumbo and Maxi, to the Colombian market. As the company did not have any experience in rebranding, he was concerned about the results.

Juan Manuel had a few options and needed to act fast. Should he start a very thorough due diligence process to make sure the acquisition was the best move for Cencosud, and then disclose his findings to the board? Should he reach out immediately to Mr. Paulmann and explain why he believed Cencosud had to acquire Carrefour Colombia before its competitors? Or, should he decide not to participate in the sales process and wait for another opportunity once he acquires more experience in his role as CFO? With these questions in mind, Juan Manuel knew that his restlessness was justified.

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Exhibit 1: Chilean main retail players

Company Supermarkets Department Stores

Home Improvement

Sales 2011(in $ million)

EBITDA 2011(in $ million)

Market Cap. 2011

(in $ million)

Total Square Feet 2011

Latam Footprint 2011

Other brands in Latammarkets

$15,749 $1,436 $13,107 27.6 millionChile, Argentina,

Peru, Brazil, Colombia

$10,633 $1,591 $18,710 18.9 millionChile, Peru, Argentina, Colombia

NA NA $5,394 $531 $3,172 7.5 million Chile

NA NA $2,474 $221 $1,845 3.9 million Chile, Peru

NA NA $344 N.M. $278 2.0 million Chile, Colombia

NA NA $471 $46 $235 0.9 million Chile

Exhibit 2: Projections Of Food Retail in Colombia

Year $ Billion COP billion € Billion % Growth

2013 68.7 128,503.2 51.7 6.4%

2014 73.1 136,614.1 55.0 6.3%

2015 78.0 145,888.3 58.7 6.8%

2016 83.3 155,717.1 62.7 6.7%

2017 88.9 166,208.6 66.9 6.7%

2018 94.8 177,311.6 71.4 6.7%

CAGR: 2013–18 6.7%

Exhibit 3: Brand Portfolio by CountryXL

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Exhibit 4: Revenue and EBITDA breakdown by business segmentXLI

74%

12%

9%

2%3%

Revenue By Business Segment

SupermarketsHome ImprovementDepartment StoresShopping centerFinancial Services

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55%

12%

6%

14%

13%

EBITDA by Business Segment

SupermarketsHome ImprovementDepartment StoresShopping centerFinancial Services

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Exhibit 5: Cencosud timelineXLII

Exhibit 6: Cencosud’s revenues by country in 2011

Source: Cencosud 2011 Annual Report.

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Exhibit 7: Cencosud Formats, Market Position and BrandsXLIII

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Exhibit 8: Carrefour Colombia Financial Information (all figures in COP$ ‘000)

Income Statement

REVENUES $3,959,771,118COST OF GOODS SOLD $3,172,582,701GROSS MARGIN $787,188,417ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES $364,924,341SALES EXPENSES $332,795,906OPERATIONAL INCOME $89,468,170NON OPERATIONAL INCOME $95,701,140NON OPERATIONAL EXPENSES $120,728,888INTEREST EXPENSE $32,087,528PROFIT BEFORE TAXES $64,440,422TAXES $19,148,431NET PROFIT $45,291,991

DEPRECIATION EXPENSE $141,593,791

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Balance Sheet

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Exhibit 9: Growth Perspectives for the Colombian Market

Bibliography

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1. Carrefour Group Site. History. http://www.carrefour.com/content/history2. The Wall Street Journal. “Carrefour Loss Narrows”. NADYA MASIDLOVER.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100008723963904449149045776206805096860363. The Wall Street Journal. “Carrefour Names CEO for Retail Turnaround”. Passsariello,

Masidlover and Landauro. January 31, 2012. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204740904577192192183472350

4. Reuters. “Carrefour faces tough choices to fund revival”. Aug 22, 2012.http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/22/carrefour-funding-idUSL6E8IV4HE20120822

Sources

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I Market Line – Chile food and apparel retailII “La historia del Retail en Chile”. http://archivosuai.eclass.cl/comunidad/articulo/45296/la-historia-del-retail-en-chile III Ibid.IV Falabella Conference – Citibank, NYC, March 2012.V Cencosud Presentation – 2008.VI Economia y Negocios. http://www.economiaynegocios.cl/noticias/noticias.asp?id=27645 VII Argentina Retail Report Q3 2011 – Research and Markets.VIII Market Line – Argentina food retail.IX CorpResearch – Retail Sector Report.X Thomas White International. http://www.thomaswhite.com/global-perspectives/retail-sector-in-brazil-riding-the-wave-of-middle-class-growth-and-consumer-credit-boom/ XI Market Line – Brazil food retail.XII Thomas White International. http://www.thomaswhite.com/global-perspectives/retail-sector-in-brazil-riding-the-wave-of-middle-class-growth-and-consumer-credit-boom/ XIII ADVFN, “With Brazil Acquisition, Chile Cencosud Flexes Its Muscle”, 2011, http://www.advfn.com/nyse/StockNews.asp?stocknews=WMT&article=44834315XIV Market Line – Brazil apparel retail.XV My EIU, “Cencosud leads Chilean incursion into Colombian market”, October 2012, http://country.eiu.com/article.aspx?articleid=181377802&Country=Chile&topic=Economy&oid=1391538923&flid=1579732542XVI Market Line – Colombia Food RetailXVII Market Line – Colombia food retailXVIII CorpResearch – Retail Sector Report.XIX PwC Mexico retail sector reportXX Market Line – Mexico food retail.XXI CorpResearch – Retail Sector Report.XXII Market Line – Mexico food retailXXIII Ibid.XXIV Cencosud Annual Report 2011, http://www.cencosud.com/wp-content/files_mf/memoria201142.pdfXXV Cencosud Report. “Roadshow Presentation”, June 2012, http://www.cencosud.com/wp-content/files_mf/6.enginvestorpresentationjune201237.pdfXXVI Cencosud. “Financial Retailing”, http://www.cencosud.com/en/unidades-de-negocio/retail-financiero/XXVII Cencosud Annual Report 2011. “Business Strategy”, http://www.cencosud.com/wp-content/files_mf/memoria201142.pdfXXVIII Funding Universe http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/cencosud-s-a-history/XXIX Funding Universe http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/cencosud-s-a-history/XXX Funding Universe http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/cencosud-s-a-history/XXXI Funding Universe http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/cencosud-s-a-history/XXXII Progressive Grocer, “Cencosud Reaches Agreement to Acquire Disco From Ahold”, November 2003, http://www.progressivegrocer.com/node/64253?sort_order=ASC XXXIII Business Wire, “Casino Announces Its Intention to Enter into a Joint Venture with Cencosud to Develop The DIY (Do-It-Yourself) and Home Improvement Retail Business in Colombia”, May 2007, http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20070502005473/en/Casino-Announces-Intention-Enter-Joint-Venture-Cencosud#.VN0aDy79yRg XXXIV Merger Market report, “Clash of the Titans”, September 2012 XXXV Bloomberg, “Cencosud Climbs on Purchase of Brazilian Grocery Chain”, October 2010, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2010-10-18/chile-s-cencosud-buys-brazil-retailer-bretas-in-biggest-deal-in-five-yearsXXXVI ATKearney Report, “2011 Global Retail Development Index”, 2011XXXVII Merger Market report, “Clash of the Titans”, September 2012XXXVIII ATKearney Report, “2011 Global Retail Development Index”, 2011XXXIX Santander Investment research departmentXL Cencosud Report. “Roadshow Presentation”, June 2012, http://www.cencosud.com/wp-content/files_mf/6.enginvestorpresentationjune201237.pdfXLI IbidXLII IbidXLIII Ibid