Carrefour Exits Greece

By Laura Elliott.

The France-based retailer Carrefour is in the process of exiting Greece, as companies find it increasingly difficult to function in a country where the nation’s debt has sunk demand, and whose future in the euro is at risk.

Last Friday, Carrefour said that it was selling its stake in a joint Greek venture to local partner Marinopoulos. Companies in Greece are currently struggling to cope with the fall in demand in Europe’s most financially unstable countries – including Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy. Carrefour’s exit comes ahead of elections which may be crucial in deciding whether or not Greece remains in the euro.

Last week, the UK’s Marks and Spencer also took a £44.9 million write-off in its Greek business. Carrefour is accepting a 220 million-euro, mostly non-cash, charge as a result of the deal. The world’s second-largest retailer made 2.2 billion euros-worth of sales in Greece last year, but analysts estimate that the company made a staggering loss of 40 million euros.

“It’s not a bad move even if it costs them money,” said analyst Laurence Hoffman from Oddo Securities.

Short URL: http://www.internationalsupermarketnews.com/?p=7248

Posted by admin on Jun 28 2012. Filed under Europe, International, Latest News, Retail News, Supermarkets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry