Thursday, November 21 2013

 Negotiations are underway for the French retailer Carrefour's coming to the Armenian market, French Ambassador to Armenia Henri Reynaud told reporters, Thursday. 

The ambassador said everyone, who he had an opportunity to discuss Carrefour's activity in Armenia with, welcomed the idea. As the French Ambassador to Armenia, Henri Reynaud is happy to see so many people welcoming Carrefour's possible arrival in Armenia. He told reports that all the necessary conditions have been created and the Armenian party is ready to assist Carrefour to enter the Armenian market.

According to ArmInfo's reliable sources, the first hypermarket of Carrefour chain of retail stores will open in Arshakunyants Ave in Yerevan. The hypermarket will occupy an area of 6,000 sq/m. According to the source, Carrefour plans to open 3 stores in Armenia.

To recall, the leadership of Dalma Garden Mall in the person of the well-known Armenian entrepreneur Samvel Karapetyan has cancelled the contract with the European retail network Carrefour on the lease of business premises for the hypermarket. The key person "to be blamed for it" is Samvel Alexanyan, the Armenian oligarch importing essential goods, the owner of a large chin of Yerevan City supermarkets.     

According to the reliable sources of the agency, the Carrefour hypermarket in Yerevan was to work on the basis of a franchise owned by a large U.A.E. developer Majid Al Futtaim Holding (MAF). At present MAF has already 45 supermarkets.  To note, by the number of its stores (over 15 thsd) Carrefour Group (France) holds the first position in Europe and the second position in the world. Carrefour hypermarkets' assortment includes up to 80,000 food and non-food items. The total staff consists of over 400 thsd people. Nothing has been said about the investments in the opening of the hypermarket in Yerevan, however, experts estimated the investments at 6-8 mln USD.     

Observers think that the opening of Carrefour in Armenia could have had a strong impact on the competitive environment in the sphere of organized retail trade, which is actually divided into 2 large networks owned by oligarch parliamentarians.