Carrefour buys into Ahold
With the acquisition, Carrefour with its 30 hypermarkets will become the second largest hypermarket operator in Poland. Carrefour representatives declined to comment on the value of the transaction or the negotiations with Ahold.
The 13 Ahold supermarkets in question are located in Radom, Piotrków Trybunalski, Szczecin, Jelenia Góra, Tarnów, two in Łódź, Kraków, Bielsko-Biała, two in Poznań, Elbląg and Tychy. The hypermarkets trade under the Hypernova brand name. Annual net revenue of the 13 hypermarkets is approximately e120 million. The completion of the transaction is subject to the approval by the Competition and Consumer Protection Authority (UOKiK). The closing of the transaction is expected in the first quarter of 2005.
"In Poland, we have decided to fully focus on the further development of the supermarket and compact hypermarket formats," said Anders Moberg, Ahold President and CEO. "Moreover, the divestment of all the larger hypermarkets contributes to the reduction of our debt." Ahold is planning to procure e2.5 billion from the sales of its assets, to cover the financial losses the company has suffered over the last two years.
At the same time Ahold still intends to expand, with one Hypernova store scheduled to open in Sochaczew this year, and two new Albert compact supermarkets to open in Legionowo and Warsaw. According to Ahold spokesperson, Dominika Kosman, the company is also planning to make some changes in its retail offer, such as scrapping its household appliances sections.
Ahold has been present on the Polish market since 1995. In January 2003, the company merged its Polish, Czech and Slovak operations into Ahold Central Europe, which generated consolidated net sales of e1.6 billion during one year.
Carrefour currently operates 16 hypermarkets in Poland and over 70 Globi and Champion supermarkets. Poland's largest supermarket chain at the moment is Tesco, with 43 hypermarkets scattered throughout the country. Tesco's position on the market is attributed to a similar acquisition, when in 2002 it took over the German supermarket HIT.
(M.L)
The 13 Ahold supermarkets in question are located in Radom, Piotrków Trybunalski, Szczecin, Jelenia Góra, Tarnów, two in Łódź, Kraków, Bielsko-Biała, two in Poznań, Elbląg and Tychy. The hypermarkets trade under the Hypernova brand name. Annual net revenue of the 13 hypermarkets is approximately e120 million. The completion of the transaction is subject to the approval by the Competition and Consumer Protection Authority (UOKiK). The closing of the transaction is expected in the first quarter of 2005.
"In Poland, we have decided to fully focus on the further development of the supermarket and compact hypermarket formats," said Anders Moberg, Ahold President and CEO. "Moreover, the divestment of all the larger hypermarkets contributes to the reduction of our debt." Ahold is planning to procure e2.5 billion from the sales of its assets, to cover the financial losses the company has suffered over the last two years.
At the same time Ahold still intends to expand, with one Hypernova store scheduled to open in Sochaczew this year, and two new Albert compact supermarkets to open in Legionowo and Warsaw. According to Ahold spokesperson, Dominika Kosman, the company is also planning to make some changes in its retail offer, such as scrapping its household appliances sections.
Ahold has been present on the Polish market since 1995. In January 2003, the company merged its Polish, Czech and Slovak operations into Ahold Central Europe, which generated consolidated net sales of e1.6 billion during one year.
Carrefour currently operates 16 hypermarkets in Poland and over 70 Globi and Champion supermarkets. Poland's largest supermarket chain at the moment is Tesco, with 43 hypermarkets scattered throughout the country. Tesco's position on the market is attributed to a similar acquisition, when in 2002 it took over the German supermarket HIT.
(M.L)
