CHILE · COMPANIES
Key Facts
- —The country Chile is a South American country and home to Cencosud, a retail group active in six markets.
- —Why it matters A court will decide who pays for a major warehouse fire, a risk for any firm renting storage.
- —Why now Details of the lawsuit emerged on Friday 23 October 2026, as two appeals reached Chile’s Santiago Court of Appeals.
- —What happened Three insurers seek US$10.8 million from Cencosud and two warehouse firms over a March 2023 fire.
- —The numbers Claims are US$8.7 million, US$1.6 million and US$513,000; the fire hit about 65,000 square metres.
- —What it means for you Investors can weigh a US$10.8 million claim against a retailer with about US$4.5 billion in quarterly sales.
- —Still open Whether the court blames a cigarette, the warehouse owners or strong winds, and when judges rule on appeals.
- —Power Index Chile ranks 3rd of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 63.6 points (October 2026 edition).
Three Chilean insurers are suing retailer Cencosud and two warehouse companies for US$10.8 million over a March 2023 fire that burned about 65,000 square metres (roughly 700,000 square feet) of storage space near Santiago. The business daily Diario Financiero detailed the Cencosud fire lawsuit on Friday 23 October 2026, and the claim alleges that a lit cigarette left by Cencosud workers started the blaze, which Cencosud disputes.
For US readers the case is a test of who pays when a company’s staff are blamed for a warehouse fire, a question that matters to any business storing goods in rented space. Cencosud also operates in the United States, where its second-quarter revenue rose 1.9% in local currency, according to its own earnings release.
According to Diario Financiero’s reading of the court filings, Cencosud asks the court to reject the claims in full, saying the cigarette theory has no physical proof or court ruling behind it. The case sits in the 8th Civil Court of Santiago, and two appeals over what evidence to allow reached the Santiago Court of Appeals in October.
In Plain English
- —Cencosud A Chilean retail group with supermarkets, department stores, home-improvement stores and shopping centres across six markets.
- —Bodegas San Francisco (BSF) The company that runs the Lo Aguirre warehouse complex in Pudahuel, a district of Santiago.
- —Inmobiliaria Los Laureles The property company that owns the complex.
- —Bci Seguros, Unnio, Consorcio The three insurers that paid their clients after the fire and now want the money back.
- —Bicrim A police criminal-investigation unit whose interviews the lawsuit quotes.
What the Insurers Are Claiming
The suit combines three insurance claims that add up to about US$10.8 million. Bci Seguros seeks US$8.7 million for what it paid to Robert Bosch, which makes it roughly 80% of the total.
Unnio seeks US$1.6 million for payments to Dercomaq, Royal Rental and Soprole, while Consorcio seeks US$513,000 for payments to Bio Médika and Clinical Market. In each case the insurer wants to recover what it paid out to its customers.
According to the suit, five people walked to a yard west of warehouse C-41 shortly after 8:00 pm on Tuesday 14 March 2023, where wooden pallets and spools of fibre-optic cable were stacked. Less than an hour later that yard was the centre of a fire that, by the defendants’ own account, reached about 65,000 square metres of warehouses.
The insurers cite statements to the police unit Bicrim in which four women workers said they used the area to rest and smoke. A fifth person said the cigarette butts “may have caused the fire, since we left them lying there” (our translation).
The suit argues that a lit cigarette, heat, wind and dry wood started a slow smouldering. It also blames Bodegas San Francisco and Inmobiliaria Los Laureles for operating without final building approval and without firewalls, which are allegations that no court has ruled on.
How Cencosud and the Warehouse Firms Answer
Cencosud says the cigarette theory has no physical proof or court ruling behind it, and the suit itself notes that prosecutors closed the criminal complaint filed by Los Laureles. It adds that the workers were on a lunch break, that one of the five was a guard from another company and that nobody ruled out other ignition sources such as lithium batteries.
Cencosud blames the size of the damage on how the fire spread, which it says was the responsibility of BSF and Los Laureles. It says the fire began at 8:31 pm and that BSF alerted the fire brigade at 9:05 pm.
BSF and Los Laureles put the blame back on Cencosud, citing a January 2024 police report that found the five people “responsible for the crime of negligent fire” (our translation). They also plead an unforeseeable event, pointing to “strong and abnormal gusts of wind”.
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Where the Cencosud Fire Lawsuit Stands
The 8th Civil Court of Santiago opened the evidence stage in December 2025, the phase in which each side must present proof for its version. Cencosud asked to add a point showing the events happened during the lunch break, and BSF and Los Laureles asked to add their contracts with the logistics operators.
The judge rejected both requests but allowed appeals, which reached the Santiago Court of Appeals on 14 and 21 October. While the appeals are pending, the trial continues with the witness lists already filed.
The 2023 fire has also led to a separate claim by Directv, a satellite-TV provider that La Tercera described as American in 2024. Filed on 19 July 2024 in the 26th Civil Court of Santiago against BSF alone, it seeks CLP 16.4 billion (about US$16.6 million at the Banco Central observed rate of CLP 986.58 per US$ on 23 October 2026) for antennas and decoders stored in warehouse C-21.
Cencosud at a Glance
Cencosud, based in Santiago, posted second-quarter 2026 revenue of CLP 4.09 trillion (about US$4.5 billion at the CLP 905.3 per US$ average rate in its own release), down 1.8% from a year earlier. Its release of 6 August 2026 shows a reported net loss of CLP 18.1 billion (about US$20 million), or a profit of CLP 21.5 billion (about US$24 million) excluding Argentina’s inflation accounting.
Online sales grew 14.6% in the quarter, and the group counted about 31 million active loyalty customers across its markets. In the United States, revenue rose 1.9% in local currency, helped by online sales that were up 18.6%.
Against those figures, the US$10.8 million claim in the Cencosud fire lawsuit equals roughly 0.2% of one quarter’s reported revenue, by our own arithmetic. The release we reviewed does not mention the lawsuit or the 2023 fire.
What It Means for You
For US investors, the claim is small next to Cencosud’s quarterly revenue, but the case shows how blame for a warehouse fire can be argued among a company, a warehouse operator and a property owner. The group lists its shares in Santiago under the ticker CENCOSUD, and its US exposure comes through its US stores.
For companies that rent storage in Chile, the dispute shows why contracts, fire-safety approvals and insurance all matter when goods sit in shared logistics parks. For shoppers and visitors, the sources reviewed mention no effect on store opening hours or prices.
Our Cencosud company profile and our guides Who Dominates Chile, Elites and Regions Explained and Foreign Powers and Investors in Chile 2026 give the wider context. Our Santiago expat city guide covers daily life in the capital region.
What Is Not Known
The court file itself was not opened for this article, so the claims, amounts and quotations rest on Diario Financiero’s reading of the filings, which Perú Retail repeated. No court has found who started the fire or who is liable.
It is not known whether Cencosud itself stored goods in the Lo Aguirre complex or only employed the workers named in the suit, and the sources reviewed carry no separate public comment from the company. The five people are not named here, and the sources do not say whether any of them has been charged.
The appeals will decide whether the evidence stage widens, but no hearing date was given. Nothing in the sources says when a first-instance ruling could come.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is suing Cencosud over the Lo Aguirre fire?
Three insurers, Bci Seguros, Unnio and Consorcio, are suing Cencosud, Bodegas San Francisco and Inmobiliaria Los Laureles. They want back the US$10.8 million they paid to policyholders.
What caused the fire, according to the lawsuit?
The suit alleges that a lit cigarette left by Cencosud workers in a pallet yard started a slow smouldering. Cencosud says that was never proven and that other sources, such as lithium batteries, were not ruled out.
Where is the case being heard?
The 8th Civil Court of Santiago is hearing the claim, and two appeals reached the Santiago Court of Appeals on 14 and 21 October 2026. The trial continues while the appeals are pending.
How big was the fire?
The defendants themselves say it reached about 65,000 square metres, or roughly 700,000 square feet, of warehouses in Pudahuel. It began on Tuesday 14 March 2023 at the Lo Aguirre logistics centre.
Does the lawsuit affect Cencosud’s US business?
The sources reviewed show no effect on Cencosud’s stores in Chile or the United States. Its second-quarter earnings release does not mention the case.
Sources: Cencosud, 2Q26 earnings release, 6 August 2026; Diario Financiero, 23 October 2026; Perú Retail, 23 October 2026; Diario Financiero, 2023 report on the Los Laureles complaint; BioBioChile, 15 March 2023; La Tercera, 8 October 2024.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error