Gérard Lavinay is Dia France's new CEO

800 stores

Lavinay was Carrefour Belgium’s CEO between 2009 and 2013 and he garnered much praise when he saved the Belgian branch. The French chain now hopes he can do the same for Dia.

Dia – much like other discounters – is not performing well at all in France, because regular supermarkets are embattled in a huge price war. Its 2013 net loss reached 23 million euro and it should lose another 10 % this year.

Dia’s acquisition encompasses all 800 French stores, some 550,000 sqm of retail space. The chain, which had been part of Carrefour until 2011 under its previous name Ed, will now focus on adding neighborhood stores and to strengthen its Parisian position.