Tiendas Industriales Asociadas S.A., branded as Tía and sometimes known as Almacenes Tía, is a South American retailing brand founded in 1940. Its divisions in Ecuador and Uruguay trade under the brands Tía, MAGDA, Ta-Ta and MULTI AHORRO, where they are together the largest discount retailer, with over 450 locations. Tía S.A. (Colombia) operated 19 locations under the Tía brand, until it closed in 2017 because of poor sales. History Tía was formed by the Eastern European supermarket chain Te-Ta founded by Kerel Steuer and Federico Deutsch in the 1920s in Prague. They traded in Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Romania, but in 1940, after the start of World War II, they emigrated to the Americas, leaving everything behind. They restarted that year in Bogotá, Colombia as Tía, and later expanded into Argentina, Peru, Uruguay and Ecuador using Tía and other brand names. Steuer and Deutsch had stores where customers could find everything, with no need to shop elsewhere. The first Tía store in South America on October 14, 1940, on Carrera Séptima in Bogotá. The South American store industry has been a support for the development of this business organization, which besides the supermarket segment, allowed small manufacturing operations to arise over time and become important manufacturing companies in Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador, and Uruguay. Tía was one of the first stores to enter the market of private labels. This store was a pioneer in many aspects, which have served as a basis for national and international chains to modernize their business model. Currently, Tía is present in Ecuador and Uruguay. The Argentine division with its 61 stores was sold to French supermarket chain Carrefour in 1999 for US$630 million and was rebranded first as Norte, then as Carrefour. The Peruvian division was sold after failing in the Peruvian market. The Colombian division closed in 2017 after 77 years. Tía is majority-owned by Francisco de Narváez and family, Gustavo Andrés Deutsch, and financial institutions. Formats Tía trades as: Tía: Supermarkets are located in cities with populations over 25,000. Super Tía: Hypermarkets are located in cities with populations over 125,000. Plaza Tía: Shopping malls with a Tía supermarket and a variety of complementary stores. Tía Express: A small supermarket format. MULTI AHORRO: Neighborhood supermarkets in Barrios, bought in 2012 by Tía's Uruguayan branch Ta-Ta. MAGDA Supermercados: An Ecuadorian supermarket chain bought in 2012. Ta-Ta: The brand name for Tía in Uruguay. Tarjeta Más: