Carrefour takes over Cora’s activities in Romania

WEBWIRE

Carrefour announces the signature of an agreement with Louis Delhaize Group for the acquisition of its activities in Romania, including 10 Cora hypermarkets and 8 Cora Urban stores, and nearly 2,400 employees. This transaction will consolidate Carrefours presence in Romania, with hypermarkets located in prime locations, which will be converted to Carrefour formats and brand.

The transaction is notably subject to the approval of the relevant competition authorities and is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.

Present in Romania since 2001, Carrefour currently operates 43 hypermarkets, 189 supermarkets, 143 convenience stores and 29 soft discount stores in the country.

About the Carrefour Group

With a multi-format network of over 14,000 stores in about 40 countries, the Carrefour Group is one of the worlds leading food retailers. Carrefour posted sales of 90.8 billion in 2022. Its integrated store network employs more than 335,000 people who help to make Carrefour the world leader in the food transition for all, by offering quality food every day, accessible everywhere and at a reasonable price. In total, more than 500,000 people work under Carrefour banners worldwide. For more information, visit www.carrefour.com

Carrefour Brazil completes the acquisition of Grupo BIG and strengthens its governance

Grupo Carrefour Brasil (“Carrefour Brazil”) confirmed it has completed the previously-announced acquisition of Grupo BIG from Advent International and Walmart Inc.

WEBWIRE



The Group hence consolidates its strong leadership position across the country, with comprehensive geographical presence across all states. The transaction allows Carrefour to expand in its traditional formats, notably cash & carry and hypermarkets, while extending its footprint in formats in which it had a more limited presence, notably supermarkets. In addition, Carrefour Brazil now operates in a new market segment with the Sam’s Club format, through a license agreement with Walmart. The combined entity operates more than 1,000 stores in the country, representing close to 25% of the total retail market in Brazil. Compatible stores from Grupo BIG will be converted to Carrefour banners in the months to come. As per the local competition authority (CADE) decision, 14 stores will be disposed by year-end.


The transaction, announced in April 2021 based on an enterprise value of R$7.0bn (c.€1.35bn)(1), offers significant synergies, gradually rising to represent a net additional contribution to Carrefour Group EBITDA of at least R$2.0bn (c.€390m)(1) in 2025. The acquisition was paid 70% in cash and 30% through newly-issued Carrefour Brazil shares. After completion of the transaction, Carrefour Group owns around 67.7% of Carrefour Brazil (vs. 71.6% previously), Península Participações 7.2% and Advent International and Walmart, through affiliates, 5.6% combined.


To adjust to the new shareholding structure and support the consolidation of the new entity, Carrefour Brazil is strengthening its key governance bodies. A newly-composed Board of Directors will be submitted to Carrefour Brazil shareholder approval at an Extraordinary General Meeting to be held in July, 2022 (“EGM”) in São Paulo. After the EGM approval, Alexandre Bompard, Chairman & CEO of Carrefour Group, will chair the Board of Directors. Abilio Diniz, Chairman of the Board of Peninsula Participações will be Vice-Chairman of the Board. New members will join the Board of Directors: Patrice Etlin, Managing Director of Advent Latin America, Elodie Perthuisot, Chief Digital Officer of Carrefour Group, Laurent Vallée, Secretary General of Carrefour Group. Claudia Almeida e Silva and Vânia Neves will also join as independent Board members. Together with, Matthieu Malige, Chief Financial Officer of Carrefour Group and former Chairman of the Board of Carrefour Brazil, they will bring an unparalleled set of skills to Carrefour Brazil’s CEO Stéphane Maquaire and his Executive Committee, which is also reshaped, with a sound balance between Carrefour Executives, new comers from Grupo BIG, and new entrants.


Alexandre Bompard, Chairman and CEO of Carrefour Group and future Chairman of Carrefour Brazil, said: “With the acquisition of Grupo BIG, we are completing a strategic move, not only for Carrefour in Brazil, but for the Group as a whole. Our history in Brazil is a perfect reflection of our ambition: within a few years, we conquered leadership, created a vast ecosystem of formats and services and built a powerful and committed powerhouse – while still benefitting from a huge potential for additional growth. Together with an experienced Board of Directors and a senior level management team, we will keep writing the great story of Carrefour in Brazil, for the benefit of our customers, our employees and our shareholders

Carrefour Spain : Alexandre de Palmas Appointed National Forest Ambassador for the Second Year Running

The executive director of Carrefour Spain has received this recognition from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for the company’s commitment to the environment

Madrid – WEBWIRE



Alexandre de Palmas, Executive Director of Carrefour Spain has been appointed, for the second consecutive year, as the only national ambassadorfor FSC forests, coinciding with the commemoration of the International Day of Forests. In this way, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) recognises Carrefour’s ongoing commitment to the environment.


The presentation of this award took place at El Borril estate in Polán (Toledo), during a day in which native species of trees from the area were planted and two imperial eagles and three Iberian lynxes were released into the wild. The event was attended by Gonzalo Anguita, Director of FSC Spain and Alexandre de Palmas, Executive Director of Carrefour Spain; along with other authorities, employees and customers of El Club.


Alexandre de Palmas, Executive Director of Carrefour Spain stated, “I would like to thank FSC for their exceptional work and their involvement with the environment. I am proud to receive this distinction of National Forest Ambassador for the second consecutive year. It is the result of Carrefour’s involvement and commitment to the environment as part of our corporate social responsibility policies.”


Gonzalo Anguita, Executive Director of FSC affirmed, ”There are companies that are leaders in their social and environmental commitments, such as Carrefour, which has been working for years to implement FSC certification in their supply chains such as paper, cardboard and wood products. Not stopping there, they have been supporting FSC for years in forest restoration of areas destroyed or degraded by forest fires or inclement weather. That is why we have appointed Alexandre de Palmas as a Forest Ambassador for the second consecutive year.“


Recovering more than 21 hectares of forest


Carrefour has been a regular partner of FSC for more than 10 years in activities related to the responsible management of forests and the protection of natural areas. Thanks to the development of initiatives in which customers and employees have participated, it has managed to recover more than 21 hectares of forest.


Last year, thanks to the contribution of El Club Carrefour customers in the Vuelta Ciclista a España through their participation in the ”Kilómetro Sostenible”, the company financed projects such as the reforestation of two forests in the Sierra de Huelva in the municipalities of Berrocal and Paterna del Campo. It also contributed to the reforestation of the Los Palancares mountain in Cuenca, focusing on an area that had been without trees for more than 20 years, planting native species, which will allow the recovery of the lost forest in an area of great environmental significance.


Also as a result of the cooperation agreement between Carrefour and FSC Spain, other projects have been developed such as the extension of Getafe Forest Park in Madrid, covering nearly six hectares and incorporating a large natural meadow area, or the reforestation carried out in the Pazos de Borden, Galicia, where local residents participated in the recovery of this space. Carrefour continues to launch new products in collaboration with FSC, such as handcrafted toys made from certified wood, stationery, household goods and garden products, including the largest number of FSC-certified products in the retailer’s distribution campaign.

Carrefour enters into a global strategic partnership with Meta

Carrefour today announced the launch of an ambitious strategic partnership with Meta , which will be rolled out across the group’s nine integrated countries (France, Italy, Spain, Romania, Poland, Belgium, Taiwan, Argentina, and Brazil).

The partnership will span many aspects of Carrefour’s business from internal communication and employee experience through to customer relations, digital advertising and the digitisation of leaflets, local communication and social commerce. It will include multiple Meta platforms and services: Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Workplace.

TRANSFORMING THE CARREFOUR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

As part of Carrefour’s ambition to deliver the best digital experiences, Meta will integrate Carrefour into its mobile experience development programs. In this way, Meta will help Carrefour build the future of its mobile environment. 

To digitalise its customer experience, the Group will also work with Meta to provide instant and more personalised experiences via WhatsApp and Messenger platforms. In addition, Carrefour will empower store managers to access local communication tools to activate Meta platforms in their catchment area to support the acceleration of local digital marketing. 

In line with the rise of live shopping and new consumption models, Meta will also support Carrefour in the development of its e-catalogue offering using customised tools and innovative formats. Carrefour and Meta are already working together to digitalise promotion via the WhatsApp Business API. The digitisation of leaflets meets new consumer expectations, with 70% of French people preferring digital leaflets to paper according to a recent Ipsos study for Meta.

The two companies will also develop a joint campaign targeting and measurement offering within Carrefour Links, Carrefour’s platform that brings together all retail media solutions to improve the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.

CONNECTING 320,000 EMPLOYEES WITH WORKPLACE 

Carrefour is also taking an important step in its internal communication strategy by announcing the planned deployment of Workplace, Meta’s business communication tool, to its 320,000 employees. 

It is intended that Workplace will be rolled out progressively throughout the company and its integrated countries. The aim is to enable employees to create communities and make use of familiar features from social networks into their daily work lives to better communicate with each other regardless of their position in the Group, their business unit or the country where they are based. By eliminating silos and connecting everyone, Workplace will allow Carrefour employees to have more direct relationships and spend more time in the field, serving Carrefour customers.

Finally, Carrefour will begin exploring with Meta the opportunities that virtual reality might create for employee training. 

“This partnership with Meta embodies Carrefour’s strong acceleration in the field of technology and its transformation into a digital retail company. Carrefour is evolving to better meet the expectations of our customers, our employees and our partners,” said Elodie Perthuisot, Executive Director of E-Commerce, Data and Digital Transformation at Carrefour Group.

“We are delighted to support a French company like Carrefour, one of the world’s leading retailers, and to offer our skills and technological solutions to support the group’s digital transformation,” concluded Nicola Mendelsohn, Vice President of Meta Global Business Group. “This partnership is designed to help Carrefour innovate the way it serves its customers and at Meta we know that can’t be done unless your people are connected and aligned – so we’re excited that today’s partnership spans not just our consumer-facing products, but Workplace too.”

Carrefour Pledges to Support Its French Partner Producers to Help Them Through the Economic Consequences of the Frost

A historic frost has ruined – even devastated – agricultural production over hundreds of thousands of hectares of farmland.

In view of these dramatic consequences, Carrefour is announcing a series of initiatives designed to support its 4000 partners involved in its Carrefour Quality Line, Reflets de France and Carrefour Bio products:

  • Carrefour is pledging to honour all of its commitments to work with its partner producers over three-year periods, thus guaranteeing them as much of an overview as possible over future seasons.
  • Carrefour is pledging to help its partner producers to recover as much of their produce as possible that was spared by the frost – even if it is damaged – by adapting its requirements, particularly regarding the appearance of fruit and vegetables.
  • Carrefour is pledging to reduce payment terms so as to ease any cash flow issues that those of its partner producers who are the most affected may be experiencing.
  • Given the significant agricultural losses, Carrefour is renewing and bolstering its commitment to purchasing products of French origin. Carrefour will be giving priority to selling products of French origin on all of its shelves throughout the season.

“To help our farmers through the trials that they are currently experiencing, Carrefour is standing shoulder to shoulder with them and will support them in the long run. Our responsibility is to be their partner – whatever the circumstances!” said Rami Baitieh, Executive Director of Carrefour France.