The year 2013 saw a strategic change in positioning for GPA Malls, which attained the status of a business unit of the Group, ceasing to have a profile directed only toward executing projects, in favor of positioning focused on the conception and management of commercial spaces.

This movement was consolidated in 2013 with the contracting of a team of professionals with expertise in different business segments: the real estate market, shopping centers, franchises, etc. In all, six departments were structured to meet the different and new demands arising from the new positioning.

The projects developed during the year were forged with an emphasis on three axes that came to drive GPA Malls:

> cost gains, with a focus on developing efficient solutions and a better financial return;

> the pursuit of quality in projects and the assets built, in relation to efficiency, durability, attractiveness to the consumer and innovation; and;

> a distinctive look for the real estate market, with the development of projects capable of generating more traffic and higher profitability.

The result of this strategic change was the delivery of more than 40,000 square meters of gross leasable space during the year, which permitted GPA to close 2013 with 286,000 m2 of gross leasable space, an increase of 18.4% in relation to 2012.

The focus on expanding gross leasable space reinforces the multibusiness positioning of the Group, with activity in a market with profit levels in excess of the national average for retail. During the year, the work was focused on identifying spaces among the current galleries that would facilitate more efficient utilization of the existing asset. New approaches were also tested, culminating in the development of a new brand and an innovative business model.

Neighborhood shopping centers

The main initiative pursued during the year was the creation of the Conviva brand, utilized to give name to a model GPA introduced to Brazil: the neighborhood shopping center.

Standing for the concepts of conviviality and convenience, two establishments with these characteristics were inaugurated: Conviva Américas, in Rio de Janeiro, and Conviva Minas, in Belo Horizonte.

This business model allows customers to have their daily shopping, services and food needs met a single location. At both, the highlight is the establishment of partnerships with large retail players, which unlocks complementarities among the categories with the objective of forming a multiuse complex to meet consumer demand, and creating special attractions and spaces for interacting with the community.