European retailers Rewe and E.Leclerc have formed Eurelec, a joint purchasing company, in Brussels.
The German Rewe Group and French Leclerc announced that they had formed a purchasing alliance in mid-June, and the former announced in a statement that the necessary approvals have been granted by the Polish and Austrian competition authorities.
Rewe said that the alliance will "strengthen and develop their position in the highly competitive area of the European retail food trade". The trading group will be responsible for negotiations and purchasing for the two retailers on an international level.
Jean-Marie Malbranke, formerly the head of the management division at Rewe Group, will lead the new trading company, while each retailer will have equal representation on the board of directors.
The two groups announced that they will continue negotiations on an international scale within Coopernic, together with Delhaize and Coop Italia.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by John Golden. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
