Pingo Doce is the largest supermarket operator in Portugal with over 350 stores. (Sonae is the largest food retailer.) It belongs to the Groupo Jerónimo Martins, a share hold mostly owned by Alexandre Soares dos Santos, the richest portuguese business man. In the 1990s he acquired Brazilian supermarket chain Sé Supermercados, which became the Brazilian equivalent to Pingo Doce. In the early 2000s, Companhia Brasileira de Distribuição / Grupo Pão de Açúcar, bought out Sé, rebranding its stores as Pão de Açúcar and CompreBem.