Casino Guichard-Perrachon, the French owner of Monoprix and Big C supermarkets, will extend its Cdiscount e-commerce platform to Africa in a joint venture with freight company Bollore SA.
The first branded website is planned in the Ivory Coast this summer, the companies said today in a statement. The partnership draws on “the expertise of the leaders of e-commerce in France and the skills of the logistics leader in Africa,” they said. Financial details weren’t disclosed.
Casino is following consumers online as the Web makes shopping more convenient. The Saint Etienne, France-based retailer said last month it will pool e-commerce assets from Brazil to Vietnam and possibly spin them off in a US stock offering to finance further expansion.
Cdiscount, which opened websites in Colombia, Thailand and Vietnam in the first quarter, sells everything from lingerie to scooters. It had business volumes -- sales plus the value of other parties’ transactions on the site -- of $2.1 billion in 2013.
Bollore, based in Puteaux, France, operates businesses from freight and paper manufacturing to palm and oil plantations and Blue Solutions SA’s electric batteries. It runs transport and logistics operations in 45 African countries, from container shipping to rail and truck delivery, according to its website.
The company’s billionaire owner, Vincent Bollore, also has stakes in companies including advertising agency Havas SA and Vivendi SA, owner of record label Universal Music Group Inc.
Shares of Casino and Bollore were little changed at 9:52 a.m. in Paris. Casino has risen 17% in 12 months, while Bollore stock has surged 47%.
Bloomberg
