Companhia Brasileira de Distribuição, or GPA (from its former name Grupo Pão de Açúcar), is the biggest Brazilian company engaged in business retailing of food, general merchandise, electronic goods, home appliances and other products from its supermarkets, hypermarkets and home appliance stores. Its headquarters are in São Paulo city, and it is owned by Free Float.
The company is the second biggest retail company in Latin America by revenue and the second largest online retailer in Brazil. The company operates its e-commerce through Cnova, a subsidiary of Via Varejo.
History
In 1948, the immigrant Portuguese Valentim dos Santos Diniz opened a confectionery in São Paulo, which he named Pão de Açucar ("Sugarloaf Mountain") in memory of the first landscape he saw of Brazil when he arrived by boat (the Sugarloaf Mountain is a rocky peak that dominates Rio de Janeiro).
For 2013, the company planned to open more than 150 stores, targeting northeast and mid-west regions.[8]
In September 2013, Abílio Diniz, the son of the company's founder, stepped down as chairman of the company.[9]