Carrefour fails to find 1 buyer for Russia operations

Feb 06, 2010

Carrefour has failed to find one buyer for all of its three Russian hypermarkets and is likely to sell leasing rights to rivals as it prepares to exit the Russian market, the Reuters has reported, citing industry sources.

The world's second-largest hypermarket chain, struggling with weak performance in France, announced the decision to pull out of Russia in October last year -- only four months after gaining a foothold in the market -- having failed to identify any growth or acquisitions prospects.

The retailer had planned to sell its Russian business in one go, but sources told Reuters that it is now preparing to sell leasing rights on its Moscow hypermarket to French rival Auchan and German home improvement chain OBI, while the fate of the other two stores has yet to be decided.

It has not signed new contracts with suppliers since the end of last year, sources with food suppliers said.

Carrefour declined comment.