Auchan Retail, Groupe Casino, DIA, Metro and Schiever have announced that they are not planning to renew their Horizon purchasing alliance for 2022, by mutual consent.
The groups said in a joint statement that they were calling time on the agreement 'after three years of collaboration and having achieved their initial objectives'.
'Collaborative Approach'
Two separate structures, Horizon Achats and Appels d’Offres (for Auchan Retail, Groupe Casino, Metro and Schiever) and Horizon International Services (for Auchan Retail, Groupe Casino, DIA and Metro) were established in 2019, and was described at the time as an alliance that sought to 'move away from purely transactional negotiations', towards a more collaborative approach.
It sought to bring together players that could 'share a new vision of supplier relations', the groups said at the time, using their complementary geographical locations to support small enterprises in international development.
The agreement covered some 47 countries across Europe, Asia and South America, in which the various companies operated.
'Strategic Priorities'
Now, however, the groups have decided that they will 'each seek a purchasing set up that is directly aligned with their own strategic priorities', they said in a statement.
The groups involved plan to continue to honour all of the obligations previously agreed with suppliers and partners under the terms of Horizon Achats, Appels d’Offres and Horizon International Services until the end of 2021.
Auchan Retail announced in March that it was seeking to streamline its logistics and purchasing platforms in line with its Renaissance revival plan. [Pic ©Ricochet64/123RF.COM]
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine – discover more retail stories by clicking here. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
