Despite the world's second largest retailer by sales, Carrefour, recently denying claims that it is poised to exit the Indian market, the Economic Times reported that it is about to do just that.
The company is said to have hired KPMG to find those interested in buying its India assets. Europe's largest retailer earlier refuted speculations surrounding its exit from the country.
Speculation surrounding Carrefour's intention to pull out of India started after the company's last-ditch effort to forge an alliance or sell its operations to New Delhi-based Bharti Enterprises failed amid differences over its valuations and the structure of the deal.
"Bharti asked for the moon," a person aware of the negotiations told the Economic Times.
It was also spurred on after political party BJP, which eventually won the elections, said in chorus that the party would scrap foreign direct investment in the so-called multi-brand retailing.
A person close to matters was quoted by the Economic Times as saying, "Carrefour is pulling out of the country not because of cacophony of anti-foreign investments in multibrand retailing from the BJP-led government, but due to lack of support and will from its headquarters that considers India as a 'bad option'."
© 2014 - European Supermarket Magazine by Enda Dowling
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