Portuguese grocery retailer Jeronimo Martins is considering expanding further in eastern and central Europe, particularly in the Ukraine and Romania, according to CEO Alexandre Soares dos Santos.


The company aims to build on its success in Poland, where it is the largest sector operator, reported Dow Jones International News.


Soares dos Santos said the company had had fewer problems in Poland than in Brazil. Jeronimo Martins recently exited its operations in Brazil, whereas its operations in Poland now account for around 25% of group sales.


“It is much easier for Portuguese companies to move into central and eastern European countries than to move into Brazil,” Soares dos Santos was quoted by Dow Jones as saying. “We ran into many more problems in Brazil than we ever did in Poland.”