Groupe Casino has announced that it has entered into an 'exclusive agreement' with Teract to merge their French retail organisations.
Casino will hold the majority stake in the company, while a new separate entity controlled by Teract shareholders will concentrate on the supply of agricultural products.
The retailers have announced their intention to reach a binding agreement by the end of the second quarter.
'Common Vision'
'Teract and Casino Group share a common vision of the challenges facing the retail industry to meet new consumer expectations and environmental impact,' the companies said in a statement. 'They wish to join forces to address these challenges.'
The Casino-led entity will bring together the group's retail activities in France – encompassing 9,100 stores and its digital offering, with Teract's garden centres, pet retail and food distribution businesses.
The other entity, Teract Ferme France, which would be controlled by InVivo, will focus on supplying local agricultural products, focusing on short supply chains and strong connections with the agricultural community.
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'Ability To Innovate'
"This agreement illustrates the attractivity of the Casino Distribution France brands and of the group’s ability to innovate," commented Jean-Charles Naouri, chairman and CEO of Casino Group.
"By forging an alliance with Teract and InVivo, we will further accelerate our strategic transformation in order to improve our environmental footprint, to offer quality products to our customers and to continue the digitalisation of our network to offer the best service to our customers.”
Elsewhere, Thierry Blandinières, CEO of InVivo and chairman of Teract, added that the creation of Teract Ferme France would "guarantee a strong tie between the new entity and the agricultural sector in France, where InVivo is the reference player".
Read More: Casino To Step Up Promotions As Cost-Of-Living Crisis Weighs On French Sales
© 2023 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.
