Italian retailer Conad has admitted that the purchase of Auchan Retail Italia’s activities is proving more complex than expected.
CEO Francesco Pugliese told Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor that complications have arisen with regard to discussions with trade unions.
According to Pugliese, retail is a "local business", which explains some of the challenges faced by French retailers, such as Auchan, in the Italian market.
He added that the French retail model, which has seen Auchan, Carrefour and others open offices in other markets, generally headed by a French national, is flawed due to the fact that these operators are not always "open to local realities".
Slight Improvement
Pugliese pointed out that Conad has managed to slightly improve the business during the first few months since its takeover of the Auchan stores, although problems remain.
Elsewhere, all operations of the former Auchan Retail Italia business will be renamed as Margherita Distribuzione, from 29 October.
The new company will be 51% owned by Conad and 49% by Luxembourg-based Pop 18 (owned by WRM group).
On 30 October, trade unions have declared industrial action across the entire Auchan network, including offices and logistics.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
