Tía
 | |
| Company type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1940, Bogotá, Colombia |
| Founder | Federico Deutsch, Karel Steuer |
| Headquarters | Ecuador, Uruguay |
Area served | Ecuador, Uruguay |
| Divisions | Tía S.A (Ecuador) MAGDA Supermercados S.A (Ecuador) Ta-Ta S.A (Uruguay) Multi Ahorro S.A (Uruguay) |
| Website | www www www |
Tiendas Industriales Asociadas S.A. Tía S.A. branded as Tía, is a South American retailing brand founded in 1940, with separate divisions and brands in Ecuador and Uruguay where it is the largest discount retailer in both of those countries operating there more than 350 locations under the brands Tía, MAGDA, Ta-Ta and MULTI AHORRO. In Colombia Tia S.A (Colombia) operated 19 locations under the Tía brand. The Colombian branch closed operations on 2017 due to poor sales.
History
Tía S.A finds its roots in the Eastern European supermarket chain Te-Ta founded by Kerel Steuer and Federico Deutsch in the 1920s in Prague, Czechoslovakia, with presence in Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Romania. The Second World War and its effects forced the founders to emigrate to the Americas leaving everything behind, and beginning operations in Bogotá, Colombia in 1940 under the brand Tía, later expanding to Argentina, Peru, Uruguay and Ecuador under the Tía brand and other brands. The wave of European migrants in the 1930s brought to Colombia the European families Steuer and Deutsch who created a store where customers could find everything they wanted without having to go to other stores. The idea of creating a store similar to those that existed in Eastern Europe was protocolized on October 14, 1940, opening the first Tía store in South America, on Carrera Séptima, between calles 17 and 18, in the heart of Colombia, Bogotá.
The people of Bogotá no longer needed to make their purchases in five or six different shops, or ask for price discounts, in Tía they found everything under one roof and at fixed prices; also the lowest in the city. At the time there were stores specializing in items, but there was no concept of supermarket which was introduced by Tía.
The South American store industry has been a support for the development of this business organization, which besides the supermarket segment, allowed small manufacturing operations to arise over time and become important manufacturing companies in Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador, and Uruguay. Tía was one of the first stores to enter the market of private labels. This store was a pioneer in many aspects, which have served as a basis for national and international chains to modernize their business model.
Currently, Tia SA is present in Ecuador and Uruguay. The Argentinean division with its 61 stores was sold to French supermarket chain Carrefour in 1999 for US$630 millions and was rebranded first as Norte, and then as Carrefour. And the Peruvian division was sold after an unsuccessful evolution in the Peruvian market. Most of the shares of Tía S.A belong to the Colombian-born naturalized Argentine businessman and politician Francisco de Narváez and his family, Gustavo Andrés Deutsch, and financial institutions. The Colombian division was closed in 2017 after 77 years, due to fierce competence against new chain stores.
Formats
Tía S.A stores are divided into the following forms and brands of supermarkets:[1]
- Tía
Tia supermarkets are located in cities with populations over 25,000 inhabitants.
- Super Tía
Super Tía are hypermarkets formats and are located in cities with populations over 125,000 inhabitants.
- Plaza Tía
Plaza Tía are commercial centers with one main Tía supermarket and a variety of complementary stores.
- Tía Express
Tía Express is a small supermarket format.[2]
- MULTIAHORRO
MULTIAHORRO is a neighborhood supermarket format located in Barrios.
- MAGDA Supermercados
MAGDA Supermercados is an Ecuadorian supermarket chain bought in 2012 by Tia S.A
- TA-TA
In Uruguay, the Tía division has a different name, Ta-Ta.[3]
- MULTI AHORRO
MULTI AHORRO is a Uruguayan supermarket chain bought in 2012 by Tia S.A's Uruguayan branch Ta-Ta S.A
- Tia.com.ec
Tía S.A is addressing the Ecuadorian online market through its online store Tia.com.ec.[4]
- MultiAhorro.com.uy
Ta-Ta S.A is addressing the Uruguayan online market through its subsidiary Multi Ahorro and its online store MultiAhorro.com.uy.[5]
Tía Colombia
The first store was opened in the city of Bogotá on October 14, 1940, on Carrera Séptima, between 17 and 18 streets. The business model was a new concept thereby instituting a new business model unknown at the time. That day, Tía S.A opened the first department store that forever transformed the retail industry in Colombia.[4]
Tía Colombia had supermarkets in Bogotá, Medellín, Bucaramanga, Barranquilla, Cúcuta, Sogamoso, Ibagué, Facatativá, Palmira, and Tunja.[6]
After 77 years of service, Tía Colombia decided to close its doors on November 23, 2017, due to its unprofitable operations.[7]
Tía Argentina
The first store was opened in the city of Buenos Aires in 1946 in Suipacha 147, downtown. The business concept was innovative. The originality of the model was to put round shelves like islands for each department. Until then, the retail trade in Argentina was the store and library.[8] In 1999, Exxel, a buyout fund backed by American investors, and Promodes, France's second-largest retail chain at the time before merging with Carrefour, bought Tia's Argentine division and its 61 stores for $630 million. Carrefour spent another $600 million over three years to add stores.[9]
Carlos de Narvaez, and his brother, the Colombian-born naturalized Argentine businessman and politician Francisco de Narváez, two of the grandsons of one of the founders and partial owners of Tia S.A, want to reopen Tía S.A in Argentina. In mid-2009, they bought back the Argentine brand from Carrefour and promise to implant back the supermarket chain Argentine division starting in Buenos Aires.[10]
Ta-Ta Uruguay
On June 13, 1956, at the corner of 18 de Julio Avenue and Carlos Roxlo, Tía's Uruguayan subsidiary, Ta-Ta SA, opened the first department store in Uruguay thus giving the kickoff to the modernization of the retail store further developing trade and the supermarket industry in Uruguay.
In 2012 Ta-Ta S.A bought the Uruguayan supermarket and electronic department store chain "Multi Ahorro".[11]
Currently Ta-Ta S.A employs more than 6000 employees, and has hypermarkets located in the 19 departments of the country. As of March 2012, Ta-Ta S.A is the biggest retailer in Uruguay with over 30% market share.[12]
Tía Ecuador
The first store in Ecuador opened in the city of Guayaquil on November 29, 1960, in the downtown area of this city in 217 and Luque Chimborazo. As of 2017, Tia S.A is the biggest retailer, and eleventh in the ranking of best companies, in Ecuador.[13]
References
- ^ "Definición de negocio" (in Spanish). Tía. Archived from the original on 2011-11-21. Retrieved 2011-11-28.
- ^ "Noticias Tia". Archived from the original on 2011-11-25. Retrieved 2011-11-28.
- ^ TaTa Archived 2011-12-28 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ a b Official website
- ^ Official website
- ^ "Supermarkets Tia in Colombia". Archived from the original on 2011-09-05. Retrieved 2011-11-28.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "End of an Era, Tía will close its stores in Colombia" (in Spanish). El Espectador.
- ^ "El cuento de la casa Tia". Archived from the original on 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2011-11-28.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Exxel still shopping". Entrepreneur (May 1999).
- ^ Vuelve Casa Tia - antiguos dueños
- ^ Ta-Ta compró la red Multi-Ahorro
- ^ "Tia Uruguay". Archived from the original on 2011-12-28. Retrieved 2011-11-28.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Almacenes Tía keeps growing with now having more than 180 stores y 7.500 employees" (in Spanish). RP3 Retail Software.