Founder of Dominican retail giant Grupo Ramos, Román Ramos Uría, dies at 84

Román Ramos Uría, the Spanish‑born entrepreneur who built Grupo Ramos into the Dominican Republic’s leading retail chain, died on 5 August 2026 at the age of 84. Born on 18 October 1941 in Pola de Allande, Asturias, he arrived in the Dominican Republic in 1959 and began working for La Sirena in 1963. In 1965, amid the country’s April Revolution, he purchased the modest textile shop and transformed it into a department‑store format, introducing self‑service, fixed‑price policies and new concepts such as Super Pola, Aprezio and Multiplaza. Under his leadership the group expanded nationwide, creating more than 10,000 direct jobs and becoming a cornerstone of the nation’s modern commerce. In 2005 he handed the executive presidency to his daughter, Mercedes Ramos, while remaining chairman of the board. Ramos was also noted for his emphasis on corporate values and social‑responsibility programs with partners like Fe y Alegría and UNICEF. His death marks the loss of one of the Dominican Republic’s most influential business figures.