Spanish discount chain Dia has joined Horizon International, the purchasing alliance set up this year by sector peers Casino, Metro and Auchan.
New alliance in European fooddistribution
Purchasing alliances are currently gaining strength in the European distribution sector. The latest to join one is Dia Group, a Spanish hard-discounter and ex-Carrefour asset, which joins Horizon International Services, an alliance that was founded earlier this year when German Metro and French supermarket players Casino and Auchan decided to join forces. Last week, Dia announced that they concluded an agreement with Horizon, according to Reuters, although the cooperation is still to be approved by the Competition Commission.
The agreement involves only the Spanish company Dia. The French branches with the same name, which Carrefour Group bought back in 2014 after repelling the formula three years earlier, are not included. This confusing situation will soon cease to exist: as part of the large-scale reorganisation currently carried out by Carrefour, fifty French Dia stores are being sold again, while the remaining hundreds of stores were closed.
