Brazilian self-service wholesale company Assaí Atacadista has revised its store opening plan for 2025, postponing some projects to accelerate the reduction of financial leverage.
The company now expects to open approximately 10 stores next year, compared to the previous forecast of 20.
For 2026, Assaí aims to resume its pre-hypermarket conversion expansion level, with a forecast of around 20 new stores.
Investments
Regarding investments, Assaí projects between R$1 billion (€162 million) and R$1.2 billion (€194 million) for 2025, with R$650-750 million (€105-121 million) allocated to new store openings.
Additionally, the company plans to spend R$250-300 million (€40-48 million) in maintenance and new services in the existing store network, as well as R$100-150 million (€16-24 million) in infrastructure, new systems and innovation projects.
The remaining funds will be used for various purposes, including maintenance, new services, infrastructure, and innovation.
With these revisions, Assaí expects leverage (net debt to EBITDA ratio) to reach 2.6 times by the end of 2025, down from 3.2 times at the end of 2024, due to the growth in EBITDA and reduced net debt.
Strategic Plan
The company's strategic plan for 2025 takes into account recent increases in the Selic rate – the reference interest rate for the Brazilian economy – and changes in interest rate expectations.
Since the beginning of 2021, Assaí has opened over 120 stores, including 64 hypermarket conversions, in addition to investments to include new services in the stores, such as butchery, bakery, deli meats and cold cuts, and self-checkout.
These investments have accelerated Assaí's expansion and allowed the company to enter strategic regions that would have been difficult to access through organic expansion.
