13 Dec Placing Growth where it belongs
Editorial: Placing Growth where it belongs
As the year in which we celebrate the 225th anniversary of Jerónimo Martins comes to an end, we share our story of growth by the lens of those who grew alongside us: from suppliers to investors, from employees to the communities we are part of.
As we approach the end of 2017, the year in which we celebrate the 225th anniversary of Jerónimo Martins, this issue of Feed is inspired by the will to share with you our story of GROWTH. Late September we unveiled the renewed Jerónimo Martins brand, on the exact same day in which we inaugurated the Group’s largest investment in Portugal so far: a 75 million euro, state-of-the-art Distribution Centre (DC) which serves more than 200 Pingo Doce and Recheio stores in the North of Portugal. On that September 27, a mildly sunny Wednesday, we were actually celebrating three milestones: our 225th birthday, the inauguration of the DC and the new visual identity of Jerónimo Martins.
Many reasons to rejoice about that could all be summed up in one very simple yet powerful word – GROWTH. Fourteen years after our latest branding exercise, we needed to mirror in our visual identity the huge transformation that has occurred in Jerónimo Martins since the beginning of this new millennium. We are now an independent, solid and self-confident Group, fully prepared to deliver on our vision: to democratise the access to quality food wherever we develop our operations. And we know that the only one way to really become more relevant is by growing.
With our roots going as far as the year 1792, we know that growing old is a simple result of the passage of time. That’s why we chose, many years ago, to grow up while growing old. We do it by learning from the mistakes of the past, staying humble and with our eyes set on the day after tomorrow even though the world is ever more uncertain.
Part of growing up is acknowledging that the only way to keep on delivering sustainable growth is by working together with our partners.
As a fundamental part of growing up and into the future, we are aware that to keep on delivering sustainable GROWTH we must work together with our partners. To put it in the words of Henry Ford, “coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success”. In the following pages, we are telling the stories of those who have grown alongside us: from suppliers to investors, from employees to the very communities we are part of in Portugal, Poland and Colombia.
You will also learn that the power of collective action is at the heart of everything we do to pursue the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations for Humanity to be achieved by 2030. Eradicating poverty in the world and saving the planet may sound more like ideals rather than targets. But when it comes to addressing mankind’s biggest problems, only a determined approach may result in a real, positive change. We are all summoned: companies, governments, individuals. And we must embrace the challenge of leaving no-one behind.
In Jerónimo Martins we are aware of the importance of profit GROWTH if we are to keep stimulating shared value creation. Profit cannot be an end in itself. It is a means to stay strong and contribute to make the world a better place. For all. For the past 225 years, we have known that growing takes time. That the bigger the ambition, the greater the responsibility. And that real success is built by the will to improve every single day. Even acknowledging that perfection doesn’t exist, we will keep on striving to do what is right. Always. Let’s grow.