(Press Release) L Catterton has increased its stake in São Paulo St. Marche supermarket chain to 52% for R$226m.

Grupo St. Marche (“St. Marche”), the supermarket chain that introduced a superior, innovative shopping experience to the food retail segment in Sao Paulo, today announced a significant growth capital investment by L Catterton, the largest consumer-focused private equity firm in the world. L Catterton’s investment will be used to support and accelerate St. Marche’s continued growth in Brazil. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

St. Marche currently has 18 supermarket stores under the St. Marche brand and one emporium under the Empório Santa Maria brand. In 2015, St. Marche partnered with Eataly to launch and operate stores under the Eataly brand in Brazil. The first Eataly location opened in Sao Paulo in May 2015. St. Marche attracts customers with its pleasant shopping environment in convenient locations, offering outstanding customer service, high quality products and a wide selection of uniquely curated merchandise. St. Marche is focused on providing an excellent in-store shopping experience while offering quality products for both day-to-day purchases as well as special occasions.

Since its founding in 2002 by Bernardo Ouro Preto and Victor Leal, St. Marche has experienced rapid growth across the city of Sao Paulo. With a significant number of untapped markets and an increasing demand for high-end, specialty supermarkets, St. Marche and L Catterton see an opportunity to continue the company’s rapid growth through organic expansion. Mr. Ouro Preto and Mr. Leal will remain as co-CEOs of St. Marche.

“L Catterton’s investment will allow us to continue our rapid growth and expansion,” said Mr. Ouro Preto and Mr. Leal. “The partnership between St. Marche and L Catterton, the preeminent global consumer investor, demonstrates the strong positioning of our company. With L Catterton’s partnership, St. Marche will have the resources, industry expertise and global capabilities that we need to take St. Marche to the next level as we expand in Brazil and beyond.”

“We are delighted to partner with St. Marche, the most innovative grocer in Brazil,” said Dirk Donath, Managing Partner, L Catterton Latin America. “St. Marche is uniquely positioned to capture growth across various segments of the supermarket industry, which has been fueled by increased consumer demand for great service and a curated shopping experience. We look forward to partnering with St. Marche’s strong management team to support the company’s expansion plans. St. Marche is an ideal complement to L Catterton’s portfolio of leading brands around the world.”

“Bernardo and Victor are visionary leaders in the Brazilian supermarket industry, having positioned St. Marche as an innovative store concept focused on the customer experience and high quality product assortments,” added Farah Khan, Partner, L Catterton Latin America. “We look forward to embarking with Bernardo and Victor on this exciting chapter of growth for the company.”

St. Marche is the first investment in Brazil by the L Catterton Latin America (“LCLA II”) fund. The Fund has offices in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and New York and has previously made an investment in Bodytech, the leading health and fitness player in Latin America.

About St. Marche
St. Marche was founded in 2002 by Bernardo Ouro Preto and Victor Leal with the opening of its first store in the neighborhood of Morumbi. Currently, Grupo St. Marche has 18 supermarkets in the greater Sao Paulo area under the St. Marche brand, an Empório Santa Maria and an Eataly. The company prioritizes proximity, convenience, product quality and an impeccable customer service, positioning St. Marche as the preferred supermarket in customers’ minds. St. Marche’s team of gastronomic curators are always leading the market in Sao Paulo in offering the most innovative products and currently boasts a product assortment of 10,000 items. In 2015, Bernardo and Victor won the supermarket CEOs of the Year award from Forbes Magazine with the St. Marche brand and the Restaurateurs of the Year award from Veja São Paulo with Eataly’s restaurant operations.

About L Catterton
L Catterton, formed in 2016 through the partnership of Catterton, LVMH and Groupe Arnault, is the largest consumer-focused private equity firm in the world, operating multiple funds out of seventeen offices across five continents. Since its founding in 1989, Catterton has leveraged its category insight, strategic and operating skills, and network of industry contacts to establish one of the strongest private equity investment track records in the middle market. L Catterton builds on this heritage and the strong track record of LVMH and Groupe Arnault’s existing European and Asian private equity and real estate operations, conducted under the L Capital and L Real Estate franchises. L Catterton invests in all major consumer segments, including: Food and Beverage, Retail and Restaurants, Beauty and Wellness, Fashion and Accessories, Consumer Products and Services, Consumer Health, and Media and Marketing Services, as well as real estate projects anchored by luxury retail. L Catterton’s investments include: Hopdoddy, PIADA Italian Street Food, Mendocino Farms, CHOPT Creative Salad Company, Bruxie, Protein Bar, Snap Kitchen, Peloton, Restoration Hardware, CorePower Yoga, Sweaty Betty, Outback Steakhouse, Plum Organics, Noodles & Company, Vroom, Frederic Fekkai, PIRCH, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Wellness pet food, Nature’s Variety pet food, Kettle Foods, Odwalla, P.F. Chang’s, Ba&sh, Sandro & Maje, CellularLine, Vicini / Zanotti, Cigierre, Gant, Nutrition and Sante, Pepe Jeans & Hackett, 2XU, Charles & Keith, Marubi, Bateel, Sasseur, Emperor Watch and Jewelry, Miami Design District and G6 in Ginza – Tokyo, to name a few. More information about L Catterton can be found at www.lcatterton.com.