«What does the Foundation mean to my family and to me in particular?
It was the form chosen to study major national issues and make civil society aware of them, thus encouraging debate and discussion among its members.
We desire a society that is receptive to culture, conscious of its own problems and the most appropriate solutions for them; an active society that professes, without fear, its thoughts, its critical opinions, and its wishes in total freedom.
A society aware of its rights, as well as its duties and one which shoulders its responsibilities; one which forces its politicians and government to listen to it and make decisions based on what that society wants.
With the Foundation it created, my family also wishes to give back to our society and country what it has received from them in equal measure. May those who represent it be worthy of its intentions!»
Alexandre Soares dos Santos (1934-2019)
Francisco Manuel dos Santos was born in Safurdão, 23 km from Guarda, in the Beira Alta region of Portugal, in 1876. His direct descendants are the shareholders of Sociedade Francisco Manuel dos Santos. This family company currently controls 56.14% of Jerónimo Martins.
The patron of the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation went to primary school and was only 10 years old when he left his native village. He would never again experienced formal education. Responding to the appeal of a grocer who was looking for a boy who could read, write and do sums, Francisco Manuel dos Santos was sent to Porto.
The city was then going through its most significant period of growth in the modern age, and the young man did not hesitate in taking advantage of the opportunities this brought. Abandoning the position of grocer's assistant, he set himself up in the same line of business.
Highly successful, he made his fortune and developed a network of useful professional contacts, making the acquaintance of Elísio Pereira do Vale. In 1920, together with Domingos Gomes, they set up Grandes Armazéns Reunidos, with headquarters in Porto.
He transferred a significant part of his business to Lisbon in 1921. Along with his partners from Grandes Armazéns Reunidos, he acquired the Jerónimo Martins "fine grocery store” in Chiado, Lisbon. This grocery, founded in 1792 by a Galician of the same name, sold sophisticated national and foreign products, including the olive oil produced by famous Portuguese writer Alexandre Herculano. The store was a supplier of the Portuguese Royal House and was recognised with a Royal Warrant of appointment.
At the time of the acquisition, Estabelecimentos Jerónimo Martins & Filho was faced with serious financial problems due to management issues and the devastating consequences of the war. Restructuring was assured by a loan from Banco Borges & Irmão, which accepted the "business and honour" of Francisco Manuel dos Santos as collateral.
The strategy adopted provided for a slow and steady recovery; a chain of retail stores was set up, storage was reorganised and activities related to non-food products were eliminated. Steadily, Estabelecimentos Jerónimo Martins & Filho recovered its financial security and became one of the first companies in the country to pay its workers a 13th-month salary, as well as building a staff canteen in the headquarters in Chiado.
In the mid-1930s, there was expansion into industry, which meant investment in a margarine factory, a product that was both scarce and essential. Elísio Alexandre dos Santos, nephew and son in-law of Francisco Manuel dos Santos, who was in the business since 1935, took the initiative to build FIMA - Fábrica Imperial de Margarina. FIMA was incorporated in association with Silva Torrado, although the operation in Sacavém was only inaugurated in 1944, given that the World War prevented the arrival of the equipment. A devastating fire not long after put an end to its troubled existence, and construction then began on a new factory in Santa Iria da Azóia, which is still operating to this day.
The survival of the firm was due to Unilever, whose brands Jerónimo Martins had been selling since 1926 and with which it went into a joint venture in 1949. Having acquired the Silva Torrado share, 60% of FIMA went to Jerónimo Martins; the remainder was reinstated through the setup of Lever, a company producing cleaning and personal hygiene products, in which Unilever had an equivalent share.
Francisco Manuel dos Santos died in 1953, but not before having set up Sociedade Francisco Manuel dos Santos (SFMS) with his seven children in 1941, with the aim of formalising his holdings in several companies. His heirs assured the continuity of the company and reorganised the Group.
Elísio Alexandre dos Santos suceeded him. His management style favoured the group’s manufacturing side. It was under his leadership that Olá Ice Cream factory was acquired and that the family businesses expanded to Angola, where he founded Socorel, Sociedade Colonial de Representações. He would die in Brazil in 1967 while visiting his son – Alexandre Soares dos Santos, who 10 years before had started a career as marketing trainee in Unilever, Germany.
After the death of Elísio Alexandre dos Santos, the friendly intervention of the then vice-president of Unilever, who had been following the international career of Alexandre Soares dos Santos closely from the start, played a decisive role in influencing his return. After his demands for clear executive powers were made plain and agreed to, Alexandre Soares dos Santos finally entered the family business.
In 1980, the first Pingo Doce supermarket was opened; that year marked the return of Jerónimo Martins to the small-scale grocery business on the Rua Garrett, which quickly became an extensive network of large stores. In 1989, the Francisco Manuel dos Santos family acquired – after seven decades in business – the Vale family's share in Jerónimo Martins. The operation was financed by a flotation (initial public offering) of part of the company's capital on the Stock Exchange.
Alexandre Soares dos Santos was responsible for the Group’s investment in the distribution sector and led the exponential growth of the business over four decades, making it thrive, while overcoming several political and economic crises that Portugal faced. He developed the distribution business beyond Portugal and successfully led the internationalization of Jerónimo Martins into Poland and Colombia. It was under his leadership that Jerónimo Martins became one of the 100 largest retailers in the world. His deep concern with citizenship led SFMS to create Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos and the Oceano Azul Foundation.
With its business roots dating back to the late 19th century, the acquisition of Estabelecimentos Jerónimo Martins & Filho, in 1921, transformed Sociedade Francisco Manuel dos Santos (SFMS) into an international holding that manages a diversified portfolio of investments across several sectors, including distribution, manufacturing, agrifood, specialised retail, citizenship and the environment.
SFMS employs more than 140,000 people and serves over 300 million consumers in several countries, mainly in Poland, Colombia, Portugal and Brazil, through its subsidiaries.
Jerónimo Martins is SFMS’s main investment and, according to Deloitte’s Global Powers of Retailing 2025, ranks 25th among food retailers worldwide. Operating primarily in Poland, Colombia and Portugal, its main businesses are Biedronka (leading food retailer in Poland), Ara (network of discount stores in Colombia), Pingo Doce (supermarket leader in Portugal) and Recheio (cash & carry leader in Portugal). Jerónimo Martins also places a strong emphasis on corporate social responsibility, as demonstrated by its performance in the CDP assessments, being the first retailer in the world to achieve the highest CDP rating across the Climate, Water and Forests programmes.
SFMS has had a historical joint venture with Unilever since 1949, which includes Unilever FIMA in Portugal, and Gallo Worldwide in Portugal and Brazil, which is the third largest brand in the global olive oil market. SFMS also owns JMD, Portugal’s leading food distributor, which represents and distributes food and non-food brands.
In 2017, SFMS established Movendo Capital, an investment company focused on managing investments in companies located in Europe and the USA, mostly within the food retail value chain and branded consumer goods sectors.
Citizenship and sustainability are also main guidelines for SFMS’s investments. In 2009, SFMS shareholders set up Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos, with the goal of strengthening civil society through the study and debate of Portuguese society, while promoting human rights, freedom and democracy.
In 2014, SFMS decided to strengthen its environmental responsibility pillar by establishing Oceano Azul Foundation, whose mission is to address global sustainability from the ocean’s point of view.
Throughout its history, SFMS has sought to remain faithful to its values. Integrity, discernment, social participation, unity and worldliness are the values imprinted by its current shareholders – the heirs of the founder, Francisco Manuel dos Santos.