Unimarc

Unimarc

Company Logo
Unimarc Supermarket in Providencia, Chile.
Formation	May 1961
Founded at	Santiago, Chile
Type	Supermarket Chain
Headquarters	5680 Cerro el Plomo Avenue, Las Condes.
Location	Chile
Coordinates	33°24′19″S70°34′27″W / 33.40528°S 70.57417°W / -33.40528; -70.57417
Official language	Spanish
Owner	SMU (Sociedad Supermercados SMU)
Website	https://www.unimarc.cl
Formerly called	Cooperativa de Consumidores Unidos, Unicoop, Unicrav.

Unimarc is a Chilean Supermarket Chain owned by the Chilean group SMU. ^[1] As of 2025, it has nearly 300 locations across all 16 regions of Chile, making it the biggest supermarket in the country by location count. ^{[2] [3]}

History

Unimarc (First Called Cooperativa de Consumidores Unidos) was founded in 1961 and was comprised by Sodimac Workers. ^[4] After a name change to Unicoop, its statutes were approved in August 1961 by the Industry and Commerce Directive. ^[5] Its first supermarket was located in the corner between the Alameda and Dieciocho avenues. ^[6] After the 1970s economical crisis it was adquired by the Viña del Mar Sugar Refining Company (CRAV) and was renamed to Unicrav. ^[7] After the bankruptcy of the companies of the Ross Group (Owner Of CRAV), Unicrav was adquired by Francisco Errázuriz and renamed to its current name of Unimarc in 1981. ^[8] In 1991 Unimarc also started operations in Argentina, though in 1998 it retired from them, and its six stores in the country were divided between Supermercados Norte and Cencosud. ^[9]

In May 2008, the company was adquired by Álvaro Saieh and annexed into other supermarket chains, creating the biggest in Chile. ^[10] In 2011, SMU merged with Supermercados del Sur ^[11] .

References

1. "SMU". www.smu.cl. Retrieved 2025-11-22.
2. "Unimarc abre nuevo local en Santo Domingo, el vigésimo séptimo en la Región de Valparaíso – Supermercado Al Día" (in Spanish). 2025-07-18. Retrieved 2025-11-24.
3. "Distribuir un producto en Chile - Distribuir un producto - Santandertrade.com". santandertrade.com. Retrieved 2025-11-24.
4. "Supermercado tienen desde ayer 150 mil pobladores periféricos". La Nacion. December 1, 1964. p. 2.
5. "Autoriza la existencia legal y aprueba los estatutos de la Cooperativa de Consumo "Consumidores Unidos Unicoop Santiago Limitada", de Santiago". Diario Oficial de la República de Chile. 26 August 1961. p. 2.
6. "BID otorgará créditos a Cooperativas de Consumo". La Nacion. 6 September 1962. p. 2.
7. Duran, Gonzalo; Kremerman, Marco (September 2007). "Informe Supermercados" (PDF). FUNDACIÓN SOL.
8. "La historia del Retail en Chile". La Tercera. 31 December 2010.
9. "EyN: F. J. Errázuriz: "A ningún accionista le va a tocar nada, porque estamos pagando pasivos"". www.economiaynegocios.cl. Retrieved 2025-11-22.
10. "EyN: Saieh-Rendic agrupará todos sus supermercados bajo la marca Unimarc". www.economiaynegocios.cl. Retrieved 2025-11-22.
11. COPESA, Consorcio Periodistico de Chile S.A. "SMU se fusiona con Supermercados del Sur y suma casi 24% del mercado | Negocios | La Tercera Edición Impresa". diario.latercera.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2012-02-18. Retrieved 2025-11-22.