Auchan Retail has become the latest French supermarket to announce a streamlining of its store estate, with the news that the group is to sell 21 sites, including 13 supermarkets and four 'drive' outlets.
The group follows in the footsteps of rival Groupe Casino, which recently announced the sale of a portfolio of hypermarkets and supermarkets to asset management firm Apollo Global.
Fellow French retailer Carrefour, meanwhile. is also making efforts to curb the size of its estate, targeting a 400,000 square metre reduction across its global hypermarket portfolio by 2022.
Auchan Strategy
Auchan said in a statement that it was committing to a 'prioritisation' of its investments, under a programme it is calling 'Renaissance'.
It has announced the decision to sell 21 sites that do not have a 'realistic prospect of returning to profitability', which in turn will ensure a triple win: preserving employment for those working at the sites, ensuring 'commercial continuity' for residents, and to guarantee the continued 'dynamism' of the business.
The retailer said that in the event that some of the sites do not find a buyer, Auchan is committed to maintaining employment for all concerned workers.
The 21 sites earmarked for sale include supermarkets at Faulquemont, Tours, Esvres, Roanne, Marquette-Lez-Lille, Arras, Perpignan, Mulhouse, Rouen, Albert, Athis-Mons, Chevilly-La-Rue and Saint-Ouen L'Aumone.
Four Chronodrive outlets, located in Agen, Bayonne, Caen and Vannes are also included, as well as two Halles of Auchan (Meaux and Bobigny), one hypermarket (Villetaneuse) and an Auchandirect preparation centre, located in Marseille.
Offloading Assets
Groupe Casino has been one of the most active on the disposals front in recent months; the sale of 12 hypermarkets and 20 supermarkets to Apollo Global Management is expected to be completed by the end of July, and could be worth as much as €470 million.
Also in April, Casino announced the sale of two Géant hypermarkets at Carcassonne Cité and Château d'Olonne, as well as the sale of two former Leader Price outlets to discounter Lidl.
In addition, in March, it announced the sale of a portfolio of properties to Fortress Group for €501 million.
Elsewhere, in February, Carrefour announced that it plans to 'systematise and internationalise the logic of adapting hypermarkets to the specificities of each catchment area, in order to offer a more fluid customer path and a better shopping experience'.
French retailers are under pressure to cut debts and maintain profitability, with many operators overexposed to the hypermarket sector, which has seen sales stagnate.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
