French retailer Carrefour SA is in discussions with Sunil Mittal-promoted Bharti Group to open supermarkets in India, according to a 7 March report by the Economic Times.
Carrefour currently operates four wholesale or cash-and-carry stores in India—at Delhi, Jaipur, Agra and Meerut—under Carrefour WC and C India Pvt. Ltd.
It has had discussions with a number of Indian retailers in the past, including Kishore Biyani-promoted Future Group and K. Raheja-promotedShopper’s Stop, to open supermarkets in the country.
The retailer’s entry into this business, however, will be decided only after the national election, the outcome of which is likely to decide the course of foreign direct investment (FDI) policies in India’s burgeoning retail sector.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which several opinion polls predict will emerge as the single-largest party in the coming election, has on various occasions opposed the entry of foreign supermarket chains in India.
Carrefour, according to a 5 March report by Wall Street Journal, had indicated it was working towards establishing a presence in India. “We are thinking about and working on it and we will have an answer in a few months,” chief financial officer Pierre-Jean Sivignon was quoted as saying by the US newspaper.
The French retailer said it would spend up to €2.5 billion this year on remodelling and opening stores. “We will relaunch our expansion beyond the countries of China and Brazil,” Sivigon added.
Bharti Retail, the retail arm of Bharti Group that runs small format easyday grocery stores, declined to comment on the matter.
The Indian retailer had ended its association with American supermarket chain WalMart Stores Inc. last year.
The Economic Times also reported that Japanese retail company AEON Group, which runs various retail formats. including supermarkets, general merchandising stores and discount stores, is also in talks with Bharti Retail to enter India.
Source : http://www.livemint.com/Companies/jeP0jDR8bGgXYgk5MlidtI/Carrefour-AEON-in-joint-venture-talks-with-Bharti-Retail-r.html
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