Carrefour has announced that it is buying the bankrupt specialist distributor Bio c'Bon for €60 million, as part of plans to revamp its food range and focus more on organic food.
The Paris commercial court validated Carrefour's offer for Bio c'Bon, which had been put under court-ordered restructuring, as it included a commitment to preserve more than 1,000 employees, almost the entire workforce, the Carrefour statement said.
'Specialised Distribution Network'
'Bio c'Bon has developed a very attractive specialised distribution network, combining a contemporary store concept and an offer adapted to urban centres in prime locations,' it said.
The Bio c'Bon network of over 100 stores strengthens the specialised organic store division of Carrefour and follows the acquisition of So.bio in April 2019 and BioAzur in October 2020. The company has annual sales of €130 million.
Under its five-year plan to boost sales and profits, Carrefour, which is France’s top organic food retailer, is targeting €5 billion in organic food sales by 2022, compared with €2.3 billion in 2019 and €1.8 billion in 2018.
'This acquisition will enable Carrefour to accelerate the development of its presence in the specialised distribution of organic products in urban centres, a growing sector, with a concept that is very complementary to the Group's existing banners," Carrefour added.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
