14 Dec Understanding what shapes our world
Editorial: Understanding what shapes our world
Feed aims to bring to its pages fragments of the world where the Jerónimo Martins Group lives and grows. And to share such stimuli with those who relate with us in a wide variety of ways.
Anyone who, like us, has food retail in their core business, is in a privileged position for observing and gaining knowledge on consumer needs, preferences and behaviours. It’s astounding what can be learnt about societies from the eating habits of population groups and from the role that food can play in lifestyles and in the consolidation of human relations. For a food retailer, knowledge of the consumer is, by definition, a quest that is always undergoing constant transformation and, therefore, incomplete. It is absolutely essential to understand the history, the culture, the global, regional and local phenomena and trends that condition patterns and have an impact on consumer confidence, as well as on their purchasing power and their choice and lifestyle criteria.
That is why such knowledge must be seen as the top strategic priority, if we want to ensure the sustainability of the business in the medium to long term. This is not just about knowing the consumer, because people don’t allow themselves to be understood just through what they can or cannot buy or the way they do so. We need to look at societies and at their citizens and endeavour to be an integral part of that identity. It is in order to find out more and to further our knowledge of the societies and the peoples of the countries where we do business, as well as the challenges they face and the forces that shape their future, that this magazine you are holding has been created.
Feed aims to bring to its pages fragments of the world where the Jerónimo Martins Group lives and grows. And to share such stimuli with those who relate with us in a wide variety of ways. Today, Jerónimo Martins, whose origins date back to the end of the 18th century in Lisbon, is a Group whose business is already mostly international. We also feel at home in Poland and in Colombia, countries we respect and to whose future we are strongly committed. In this first issue of Feed, we wanted to highlight the decisive moment that the Colombian nation is going through and to better understand what is at stake. We also wanted to look at Europe, this Old Continent, which is going through an identity crisis and urgently needs to get back to its founding values.
It is absolutely essential to understand the history, the culture, the global, regional and local phenomena and trends that condition patterns and have an impact on consumer confidence
We are proposing many topics for reading, believing that in some way they all reflect the current context, culture and trends in the countries that make up our world. We will bring Feed twice a year to a selected group of readers, whom we invite to explore with us, through a multitude of angles and perspectives, the key concept which will be on the cover of each issue. In the World Economic Forum’s Global Risk Report 2016, climate change is identified, for the first time, as the biggest risk facing Humanity today. This was the starting point leading us to choose the key topic, the adjective HOT, which we have worked on in its various meanings, from the most to the least literal. It is this exercise in interpretation that we are sharing with our Feed readers because, by promoting this type of reflection, we feel we are contributing towards improved knowledge of the world in which we move, of its threats and opportunities as well as the beauty to be found there. And that is essential for us to continue creating sustained and sustainable value, for everyone.
