Carrefour announced on July 1 the finalization of the official purchase of the Cora and Match stores from the Belgian group Louis Delhaize.
The Cora stores, bought by Carrefour, will gradually change brand from October 1, the distribution giant announced in a press release on Monday.
Carrefour announced on July 1 the finalization of the official purchase from the Belgian group Louis Delhaize of the Cora and Match stores – the latter retaining their name – as well as their Provera purchasing center. The operation was carried out on the basis of an enterprise value of 1.05 billion euros.
Louis Delhaize owned 60 Cora hypermarkets and 115 Match supermarkets, often located in the north-eastern quarter of France. According to Carrefour, they represent around 2.4% of the very competitive food distribution market, and employ 22,000 people.
Morning Retail: Carrefour accelerates in proximity – 09/04
60 stores affected
In a press release on Monday, Carrefour announced that its “acquisition of the distributor Cora is entering a new phase with the gradual transition of the 60 stores under their new brand”.
“This integration will be carried out in three waves of brand change: a first of 19 stores which will begin on October 1; a second of 20 stores from mid-October and finally, a final wave of 21 stores from end of October.
During this “shift”, hypermarkets will remain open, specifies Carrefour.
The acquisition of Cora and Match is “the most important for Carrefour since the acquisition of Promodès” in 1999, says CEO Alexandre Bompard, and allows Carrefour to consolidate its second place behind E.Leclerc, which holds almost a quarter of the market. , and ahead of Les Mousquetaires/Intermarché who bought numerous stores from the struggling Casino group.