2023-06-21 15:08:00
The Carrefour brand was unsuccessful, having brought legal action to cancel the sale of stores by its former partner Mestdagh to Intermarché. In question: a problem of competition in certain regions where Intermarché has, since the beginning of the year, a dominant position thanks to the acquisition of 87 Carrefour Market Mestdagh located mainly in Wallonia, but also in Brussels.
The Market Court indeed confirmed, on June 14, the decision to authorize the acquisition of the Mestdagh supermarkets by Intermarché, according to a press release from the Belgian Competition Authority (ABC) unveiled on Wednesday.
The problem ? Some 18 of these Carrefour Mestdagh supermarkets, which came under the control of the Mousquetaires, allowed Intermarché to have a dominant position in certain places in Hainaut and the province of Namur, with price increases carried out to the detriment of the purchasing power of consumers, found Carrefour. According to the brand, the said Authority had made “errors of assessment” on the impact on competition following the takeover of these small twenty stores.
Carrefour hoped to be able to position itself favorably to get its hands on these supermarkets which would have been the subject of a new sales process if the Market Court agreed with its arguments. So nothing happened.
Shaky partnership
Carrefour and Mestdagh, it is true, did not part on the best terms due to a sometimes very tense business relationship. At the end of 2019, Mestdagh had thus denounced the contract signed with Carrefour, under which it had undertaken, since 2010, to sell Carrefour brand products in its stores, aptly named Carrefour Mestdagh (formerly Champion). Calm was quickly restored between the two partners who then committed themselves for a new period of 10 years under a “master franchise” contract.
Everything therefore seemed to be going for the best until the dramatic turn of events in December 2021. The Mestdagh group then announced that it was ending its partnership with Carrefour, with, however, a one-year notice period provided for contractually.
First wave
From March 2022, an agreement was reached between Mestdagh and Intermarché for the acquisition of Carrefour Market. “This operation will make it possible to constitute a significant player in distribution in Belgium. With 87 supermarkets for Mestdagh and 78 stores for Intermarché Belgique, the new group will have ideal coverage of its territory and will offer consumers the combined strength of the two groups”, underlined the two new partners when the agreement was announced. Intermarché might also gain a foothold in Brussels, by taking over five supermarkets.
This takeover has been effective since January 1st. This was not without difficulty for the new team: strikes took place in Mestdagh stores, which until then had been managed directly and which had to go under franchise, which is the Intermarché model. In question, as at Delhaize, the fear of job losses and less favorable working conditions.
A first wave of 16 stores will be franchised from July 1. The second wave is expected in September.
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