|PRESS RELEASE
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|Cristóbal Lira steps up as new
CEO at D&S
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|The executive will lead
      the new development stage in the Company.
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|Santiago, December 30, 2002. 
      Cristóbal Lira stepped up today as new Chief Executive Officer at D&S, the
      largest supermarket chain of the country operating the Lider, Ekono and
      Almac formats.
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|The executive (45, married,
      7 children), who has been with the Company for over 20 years and held the
      position of Commercial Manager until today, will replace Nicolás
      Ibáñez, who will remain linked to the Company as controlling shareholder
      and will become member of the Board in the near future.
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|Ibáñez came to
      this decision after leading the Company through a successful foundational
      stage that brought the Company to a leadership position at the head of the
      Chilean supermarket industry; and the sound consolidation of D&S management
      made it possible for him to take such step.
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|After more than 10 years under
      the management of Nicolás Ibáñez as CEO, D&S has become
      one of the most prominent business holdings in the country. D&S currently
      operates 62 stores spreading from Arica to Puerto Montt and its stock is
      traded both in local stock exchanges as in Wall Street and Latibex in Madrid.
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|The newly appointed CEO declared
      that there is a clearly defined program aiming to take D&S to a new
      dimension. As stated by Nicolás Ibáñez, we
      are just starting. Lira added that D&S share in family
      spending is still rather small, hence the countless opportunities to grow
      and improve efficiency standards for operation within the Company.
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|Finally, Lira
explained that this decision is the result of a carefully planned  strategy designed over
the last years with the purpose of taking the Company to  conquer new frontiers in terms
of growth and profitability.
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