The distributor Casino, which owns the Monoprix, Franprix, Naturalia and Vival brands, is bringing together its shareholders in Paris on Tuesday for the first time since its new owners, led by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, took control at the end of March.
Casino, which still employed 200,000 people worldwide at the end of 2022, including 50,000 in France, experienced in 2023 a spectacular restructuring of the debt contracted under the leadership of the previous boss, Jean-Charles Naouri. This profoundly changed both the identity of the group and the profile of its owners.
Casino has increased its sales in an attempt to survive a debt that has become unsustainable, withdrawing from Latin America where two thirds of its employees worked and notably selling almost all of the large format French stores, the historic heart of its activity, to its competitors Intermarché, Auchan and Carrefour.
Its workforce fell below 30,000 and the group announced at the end of April that 1,300 to 3,200 positions could still disappear in the coming months: 1,293 net cuts within headquarters functions and up to “1,974 positions maximum” in supermarkets and logistics sites that have not found a buyer.
Commercially, the group retains the “Petits Casino”, a historic brand which accounts for a very small share of sales; Monoprix which, with Naturalia, represents almost half of the 9 billion euros in turnover achieved in 2023 on the retained scope (8,634 stores); Franprix as well as local networks like Vival or Spar.
The distributor intends to become a “champion of proximity”, says its general manager Philippe Palazzi, by relying on the operation of franchise stores.
Previously the largest shareholder, Jean-Charles Naouri saw his stake massively diluted by the various capital increases. The new shareholders of the Casino distributor, Daniel Kretinsky, Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière and the Attestor fund, hold a large majority of the capital and voting rights.
On Wednesday, shareholders will be called upon to ratify the appointment of the new board of directors, starting with its president Laurent Pietraszewski. The former Macronist Secretary of State, responsible for Pensions and Occupational Health, had previously worked for the northern distributor Auchan.
