Produtividade do Setor Varejista de Alimentos Brasileiro

Abstract

A current analysis of the agri-food industry reveals companies committed to adopting strategic management practices to achieve improved results. This includes management decisions aimed at expanding market share and measures focused on increasing profitability. The retail segment is constantly improving and, as companies expand, they incorporate advanced information and management technologies. In this scenario, it is essential to have tools to help the decision-making process. One branch that exhibits notable competitiveness is food retail, with robust national and international groups taking control of commercial activities. This sector is also responsible for disseminating new consumption trends among customers, connecting the manufacturing industry to the final consumer. The food retail sector comprises approximately 94,706 stores. In 2022, the supermarket sector reached revenues of BRL 695.7 billion, representing 7.03% of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employing 3.2 million direct and indirect employees, according to data from the Brazilian Association of Supermarkets (ABRAS). These figures underscore the relevance of this sector in the national economy. The purpose of this study is to analyze how strategic and economic variables impact the performance of food retailers. From this, it was intended to identify which strategic actions provide the best business results. The analysis period was from 2013 to 2019, with data collected through the annual supermarket ranking editions of SuperHiper Magazine. The panel data econometric model was used in order to capture the impact of the variables on the companies' productivity. The results of economic variables showed influence, with a significant relationship from 1% to 10%. However, of the strategic variables, only the number of employees showed significance of 1%. The research results corroborated only in part with the theory and previous studies, bringing with it unprecedented and significant inferences about the research hypotheses, adding new discoveries for the sector's managerial decision-making. The discovery of a greater relevance of the macroeconomic environment than the microeconomic environment of the country for the productivity of companies in the food retail sector, provides a solid basis for them to direct their efforts towards variables that will really cause an effective impact on their financial results. Therefore, the study was successful in its contribution to the discussion on the proposed topic.