Plus and Edeka on course to merge into discount giant

Plus' German owners had reportedly been on the look-out for a partner for some time for their under performing operations in several markets. Although Plus, which has more than 200 stores in Poland generating zł.1.4 billion in annual revenues and is number three player with a market share of 13%, it is understood to be losing money even as discounters take an ever larger share of retail sales in Poland. The firm's original plans had envisaged the opening of 1,000 Plus stores in Poland. Although the deal does not mean the automatic merger of Plus with Netto's Polish operations, their combination would create a company with a 21% share of the discount market and annual sales of zł.2.6 billion. The Plus brand is likely to disappear from the market. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B5) R.M.