E. Leclerc falls behind on 2002 investment schedule

French hypermarket chain E. Leclerc has slowed the pace of its development in Poland and it has become clear that the company will be unable to meet its investment commitments for this year. The company was planning to invest zl. 200 million in the construction of a supermarket network of over 2,000 square meters in 2002. According to Leclerc representatives, the company should have commenced work on four to five shops this year, but these objectives have not been met. "We have not finished a single supermarket in 2002 though we managed to start work on our second shop in Lublin and our first in Belchatow, which should be finished in the first half of 2003," said a member of Leclerc's management. The company also plans to start constructing fuel stations close to its shops, but the source refused to comment on the details. He also added that Leclerc had not made any decision on limiting its investment levels in Poland but conceded that, "the new law has made the whole administration procedure of receiving permission much longer and in many cities the atmosphere around the investments of foreign retail chains is negative." (Puls Biznesu, p. 9) M.M.