The Saint-Etienne group has, as revealed by LyonMag, sold the business for a symbolic euro to its subsidiary Triangle, due to a lack of buyers.
While Casino is accused by the mayor of Vénissieux Michèle Picard of having carried out this transaction in his corner, without keeping her informed, the latter reacts in our columns.
“An active search for buyers was initiated on this site last May, in the same way as for the twenty stores that did not find buyers during previous waves of sales. The store employs 28 employees. A letter was sent sent to this effect to the City and the Prefecture In the letter addressed to the Mayor on May 22, we already indicated that we were listening to possible proposals. However, we did not receive any proposals from them. public actors or the social landlord for this site The only telephone calls we received were intended to receive news about our research procedure. No initiative came from the Metropolis. of radio silence, we have regularly communicated with a representative of the City throughout this time to keep them informed”indicates the Casino communications department, while Michèle Picard said she had been presented with a fait accompli.
Furthermore, following our revelations, an interview between the group’s management, the town hall of Vénissieux and the Métropole de Lyon took place on October 3, then a second on October 9.
“Our interlocutors informed us of new expressions of interest (2 discount brands) for the establishment in place of the Casino supermarket, which is due to close its doors at the end of the month. After contacting these brands, it was turns out that they were contacted after this meeting on October 9, they had therefore not made a spontaneous offer”regrets Casino, which would therefore have been misled by the communities which had not anticipated anything.
Casino also says it has contacted “280 food brands, then non-food brands in a second phase (letters, telephone follow-ups, sending presentation files for all the sites concerned). No brand has submitted offers for this site, despite some initial expressions of interest It would seem that questions of insecurity and occupancy costs (amount of rent) constituted real obstacles to a recovery..
The Casino des Minguettes will therefore become a halal supermarket, and the group refuses to “provide an opinion on the nature of the proposed offer“.
“This sale allows us not to leave any commercial wasteland and to sustain the employment of 28 employees. These employees are mostly residents of the town, and favorable to the project”concludes management.
