Hyparlo quits Italy to focus on France
Carrefour in order to focus on building its business in France and
Romania.
Hyparlo, the French retail group which is one of the main franchise holders for Carrefour, has announced that it is to sell its operations in Italy in order to focus on its business in France and Romania.
Hyparlo will sell two Italian hypermarkets in Portogruaro and Lucca, as well as a third which is under construction near Florence, to its partner Carrefour, making a one-off gain of around €20 million as a result.
The money will be used to develop the company's business in France - where Hyparlo operates 12 hypermarkets in the Rhône-Alpes region, the centre and south east of the country. This business will be expanded both by cutting prices and by refitting its stores to increase the floor space for fresh products in particular.
This year alone the company will invest €12 million in doubling the floor space of its hypermarket in Orange in the south of France, taking it to 8,500 square metres.
But the company's Romanian operations will not be ignored. Hyparlo and Carrefour together operate the first hypermarket in Romania, in the capital Bucharest, and the excellent results from the store have prompted the two companies to bring forward their expansion plans there.
As a result, the size of the current store will be increased to 10,000 square metres this spring, while a second store in Bucharest will be opened in October. More stores are planned for 2004.
The sale of the Italian business will also have a positive effect on the company's results this year. Hyparlo was already predicting profits before exceptional items around 30 per cent higher than in 2001, but this figure is now expected to be even higher. In fact, taking into account a number of one off items, consolidated net profits for 2002 should be around 60 per cent higher at €15 million.
For its part, Carrefour said that the Italian acquisition would reinforce its leading position in a market where it hopes to expand rapidly. It has five hypermarkets currently under construction and due to open in 2003 and 2004, and operates (either on its own or with franchise partners) 37 Carrefour hypermarkets, 321 Gs supermarkets, 636 Di per Di convenience stores and 13 cash and carry under Gross Iper and Docks Market banners.
