Carrefour has completed the acquisition of all activities of the Cora brand in Romania.
The deal will see Carrefour taking over ten hypermarkets and nine convenience stores and integrating more than 2,000 Cora workers in Romania, the retailer noted in a statement.
The closing of the transaction marks the exit of Louis Delhaize from the Romanian market.
The transaction, announced in April this year, was approved by Romania’s Competition Council at the end of October.
Julien Munch, CEO of Carrefour Romania, said, “We are preparing to end 2023 with an important acquisition for our company and to enter the new year with a very well laid-out plan to integrate all Cora stores.
“Our first common goal will be to provide our customers with the best Carrefour experience throughout the integration process. The two teams will work together to give all customers the best experience in our stores throughout the transformation process.”
Store Rebranding
Carrefour Romania plans to commence the rebranding of the acquired hypermarkets and convenience stores around the end of this year. It hopes to complete the project by the end of 2024.
The retailer added that the hypermarkets will remain open as much as possible during the rebranding, while convenience stores will be closed for a short period, to switch to the Carrefour Express format.
It will also launch the ‘Cora devine Carrefour’ (‘Cora becomes Carrefour’) campaign, to create awareness among consumers about new offers and benefits.
With the acquisition of Cora, Carrefour’s store network exceeds 430 in Romania, the retailer added.
In July of this year, Carrefour entered into an agreement with the Louis Delhaize Group to acquire the Cora and Match banners in France.
