French retail giant Carrefour is withdrawing from the Swiss market after failing to meet its growth targets in the Alpine country. As part of the retreat, Carrefour is selling its 50% stake in hypermarket operator Distributis to retailer Coop for EUR 287 mln. 'With 12 hypermarkets and 1.1% market share, Carrefour Switzerland did not attain the critical mass it needed to survive and negotiate competitive prices with the suppliers,' Didier Maus, managing director of Maus Freres, said.
French retail giant Carrefour is withdrawing from the Swiss market after failing to meet its growth targets in the Alpine country. As part of the retreat, Carrefour is selling its 50% stake in hypermarket operator Distributis to retailer Coop for EUR 287 mln. 'With 12 hypermarkets and 1.1% market share, Carrefour Switzerland did not attain the critical mass it needed to survive and negotiate competitive prices with the suppliers,' Didier Maus, managing director of Maus Freres, said.
Maus Freres, Carrefour's 50% partner in Distributis since 2000, is also selling out to Coop for EUR 287 mln.
Carrefour’s sale of the stake in the Swiss hypermarkets is part of an ongoing strategy to dispose of 'non-core or non-profitable assets', the French company said in a statement. Carrefour has about 2,200 employees in Switzerland.
The group has also cut back its activities in Portugal. At the end of July, Carrefour announced it was selling 12 hypermarkets that operate under the brand Carrefour au Portugal, as well as nine gas stations for EUR 662 mln to Portuguese property company Sonae Sierra. Carrefour is still active in Portugal through its discount store network Minipreco.
Meanwhile, Carrefour is expanding in Latin America and Poland, as the countries offer 'the most attractive profitability and growth profile.' Earlier this year, Carrefour bought the Polish supermarkets of Dutch retail group Ahold for EUR 375 mln. The French group is also seeking to take over Brazilian retailer Atacadao for $1.1 bn.
Carrefour's property assets have been the focus of much speculation since US private equity firm Colony Capital and French billionaire Bernard Arnault acquired a 9% stake in the company last April. According to market rumours, the two investors plan to pressure the company to free up capital by disposing of its real estate. Carrefour owns 6 million m2 of property, valued at up to EUR 20 bn. About 80% of its real estate assets are in Western Europe and the remainder is in Latin America.
