Context: How Bolsa de Santiago works, and what it makes issuers disclose · Chile on the LatAm Power Map
A century-old Chilean department store chain that nearly disappeared twice — first in a 2011 fraud scandal, then in a pandemic slump — has just merged two struggling retailers into one and is racing to prove the sum is worth more than its parts.
| Full name | abc S.A. (formerly Empresas La Polar S.A.) |
|---|---|
| Ticker / Exchange | ABC — Bolsa de Comercio de Santiago (SN) |
| Headquarters | Santiago, Chile |
| Sector | Consumer Cyclical — Department Stores |
| Employees | 3,783 (EODHD); ~4,097 reported Sep 2025 |
| Market value (market cap) | CLP 72.6bn (~US$80.1m) (our calculation) |
| Yearly sales (revenue, FY2025) | CLP 490.4bn (~US$541.1m) (our calculation) |
| Net profit (FY2025) | CLP –5.9bn (~US$–6.5m) (our calculation) |
| Net margin (TTM) | –1.9% |
| Return on equity (ROE) | –15.1% |
| Price-to-earnings (P/E) | n/a (loss-making) |
| Dividend yield | None |
| Website | empresasabc.cl |
What it is
On 6 February 2024, La Polar and AD Retail — the parent of electronics and home-goods chain Abcdin — completed their merger, starting life together with 100 physical stores, two digital channels, a single distribution centre, and a combined credit portfolio. Shareholders voted in July 2024 to seal the transformation by renaming the company abc S.A.
abc S.A. operates a chain of department stores in Chile selling clothing, footwear, beauty, sports, children’s, electronics, technology, and household items, and also offers financial services including store credit cards and insurance. The financial arm — store credit cards and related products — represents close to 30% of total revenue.
Who owns it
According to abc’s 2024 annual report, the largest shareholders are vehicles linked to Leonidas Vial (Rentas VC and Rentas ST, totalling ~24.3%), the Santa Cruz Negri family through Setec Spa (~25.4%), and Manuel José Vial Claro through Inversiones Baguales (~3.1%). After a November 2025 capital increase, the Vial group’s combined stake rose to 28.78% and the Santa Cruz group’s fell to 20.28%, with insurance group Consorcio entering as a new significant holder at 6.92%.
The share movement occurred in the context of a CLP 34.976bn (US$39 mn) capital increase announced in November 2025. No single group holds a formal controlling block; the two founding families together own roughly half the company, with the remainder in the hands of institutional and minority investors.
Who runs it
After the company’s first post-merger CEO, Gonzalo Ceballos, resigned in July 2025 for personal reasons, his deputy Santiago Mangiante — previously the head of administration and finance — stepped up to lead the company. Board chairman is Manuel José Vial, son of the company’s largest individual shareholder Leonidas Vial.
Since October 2025, the finance director post has been held by Carlos Rojas, a Venezuelan-born industrial engineer with a master’s degree from Georgetown University, who joined from Lider BCI Servicios Financieros.
The money, in plain words
Sales fell about 3.1% in the fiscal year ending 2025 versus 2024, from CLP 506bn (US$558 mn) to CLP 490bn (~US$558m to ~US$541m) — a modest retreat, but one that flipped the company back into the red (our calculation). For every peso of sales, it lost roughly 1.9 cents — a net margin of –1.9% — compared with a thin profit the year before.
The owners’ share of the business — the equity on the balance sheet — stood at CLP 63.2bn (~US$69.7m) at year-end 2025 (our calculation). The company is earning a negative return on that equity of –15.1% (return on equity, ROE), meaning it is eroding rather than creating value for shareholders right now.
Cash on hand was a slim CLP 2.8bn (~US$3.1m), and total debt is not separately disclosed in available structured data, a detail worth watching.
The market values the entire company at roughly US$80m — less than 15% of annual sales — reflecting deep investor scepticism about whether the turnaround will hold.
What it is doing now
Between April and November 2025, abc opened 15 new stores, all in smaller towns and communities away from major urban centres — places such as Cabrero, La Unión, La Ligua, and Alto Hospicio. At the same time, it closed 12 stores during 2025, and completed 31 projects combining renovations, expansions, and openings.
The company also sold its headquarters offices, generating CLP 7.0bn (US$8 mn) in cash, and sold a retail property in Puente Alto for an additional CLP 3.3bn (US$4 mn), signing leaseback agreements so it can continue using both spaces. Earlier, in September 2024, it issued a securitised bond that refinanced liabilities, extending maturities and reducing debt by CLP 43.9bn (US$48 mn).
What to watch
- Path to profit: The company swung from a small net profit in 2024 (CLP 6.5bn, ~US$7.2m) to a loss in 2025. Whether the new store network, tighter costs, and asset sales can restore consistent earnings is the central question.
- Ownership stability: The Santa Cruz family chose not to participate in the latest capital increase, diluting their stake and bringing in a new large shareholder. Further changes in the ownership balance could shift strategy.
- Credit portfolio quality: With financial services providing roughly 30% of revenue, credit quality among lower-income borrowers — abc’s core customers — is highly sensitive to Chile’s consumer economy.
- Leadership bedding-in: Both the CEO and CFO are new in post since mid-2025. Execution risk is elevated when the top two financial executives are recent arrivals in a restructuring year.
Sources
- Empresas ABC — Quiénes somos (corporate history & 2025 strategy)
- Empresas ABC — Gobierno Corporativo
- abc S.A. — Audited consolidated financial statements, FY2024 (CMF filing)
- CMF essential fact — name change to abc S.A., 26 July 2024
- La Tercera/Pulso — Consorcio becomes third-largest shareholder, January 2026
- La Tercera/Pulso PM — New corporate structure post-merger, February 2024
- Diario Financiero — Post-merger restructuring: new CEO, stores, headcount, December 2025
- BioBioChile — CEO Gonzalo Ceballos resignation, July 2025
- Market data: EODHD.
This is news, not investment advice.
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