Delhaize pulls out of Bosnia and Herzegovina

2011 purchase rolled back almost entirely

The 39 stores operated under the Maxi, Mini Maxi and Tempo brands ever since Delhaize Group acquired them in 2011. At that time, the group purchased 450 stores in the entire Balkan area from the Serbian Delta Maxi group.

That meant it was the first Western European party in the Balkan, but the expansion proved to be quite a hassle and a huge 932.5 million euro investment, of which it had to amortize 270 million euro in 2012. Another 195 million euro was amortized in the third quarter of last year.

Delhaize had already sold its stores in Montenegro and Albania, followed by a Bulgarian retreat earlier this year. Now that Bosnia and Herzegovina have been abandoned, Delhaize only holds Delta Maxi’s stores in Serbia.

Tropic Group, founded by Bojan Risovic, has purchased the 39 stores now. Risovic has been described as an “established retailer with a long history of successfully running retail enterprises“, according to a Delhaize press release. The deal should be completed in the third quarter of 2014.