Ownership until 2011
The purchase of the French Dia stores is quite remarkable as Dia belonged to Carrefour until 2011. When the chain decided to head to the Spanish stock exchange, Carrefour sold it off.
Dia, a discount chain, struggled in France just like other discount chains as major supermarket chains (like Carrefour) are also fighting the price war. Discounters had taken a 14.9 % market share in 2009, but that share had dropped down to 12.2 % in 2013. Dia’s own market share reached 1.6 % in 2013.
“Network growth”
Dia still performs well in its home market, Spain, but it had to take an 18 million euro loss in France last year. That is why labour unions feared 200 stores would have to be closed, resulting in 1,500 jobs lost. The Carrefour sale would mean that no jobs would be lost through job cuts.
“This transaction would contribute to the growth of Carrefour’s multiformat store network in its domestic market and would allow Carrefour to best serve its customers by offering services tailored to the evolution of their consumption habits“, Carrefour stated in a press release. The French authorities still have to approve the deal before it can be finalized.
