The retail bogeyman – Distribution Today

During the first months of the year, as is traditional in retail activity, rather than looking at what remains of the year, as this has already been done before the year begins, it is time to take stock. With the end of fiscal years for the vast majority of companies, one of the biggest bogeymen in the business sector in general, but in particular, in Portuguese society, in retail, emerges. I speak, of course, of a single word: profit.
Profit is for Portuguese society, namely the political elite, as that good that we all desire, but once we have it we are afraid to show it on the street. In Portugal, there is an aversion to companies that manage to have more benefits than costs, as if it were unwanted or a planning error. I’m not talking about salary inequalities or the way in which profit is later converted to the benefit of a few, but profit, in itself, does not bring harm to the world, it is, in fact, the engine that makes it move forward. .
Due to inflation, as expected, 2023 was a positive year for a good number of companies. The profits were, in some cases, significant, but the investments made in maintaining regulated prices for the benefit of the consumer were also the subject of considerable effort. The assessment has to be, if we disconnect from sectoral problems, which have always existed, therefore, globally positive.
But let’s take off our “corporate uniform” and look at the situation in the country. Ignoring the complete failures of the government strategy that left several sectors of the functional country completely emptied and, at the limit, whenever Portugal has a positive result, or threatens to have one, and that was a few times, we look at it with suspicion, as if there was an error calculation in the accounts presented.
That said, now that we are preparing for a government change, whether to maintain the same political force or find a new combination of forces, Portugal needs to modernize itself in terms of its thinking regarding the business sector. Normalizing profit, tightening the mesh regarding salary discrepancies between top and bottom, helping the economy to strengthen itself and offering better conditions to its citizens must be a common goal desired by everyone and for everyone.
May we be able, in the years to come, to better organize our idea of ​​a country to allow the emergence of strong companies, capable of thinking and executing growth, capable of rivaling the best in the world. May we achieve a country that serves its inhabitants, that is capable of supporting them, without discriminating, that is capable of respecting its commitments and establishing the basis for sustained and sustainable growth, that brings profit to everyone and not just to a few.