French supermarket group Auchan is currently looking for franchisees for seven shops, but up to half of all stores could eventually become independent.
New to franchising
Auchan Retail France wants to dispose of seven supermarkets that “no longer fit into the commercial project“, the retailer told Linéaires. The sale will involve 261 employees and 15 temporary staff, LSA reports. The retail group is currently looking for franchisees, but negotiations for some shops are reportedly well advanced.
The move is all the more remarkable given that Auchan has so far done very little franchising: only 39 of its 235 shops in France are currently in franchise. It seems that the group is following the current trend in the supermarket industry: in Belgium, Delhaize and Intermarché Mestdagh are pursuing controversial plans to spin off shops, while in France, Carrefour is looking to drastically cut costs and is also starting to franchise hypermarkets. This is not (yet) the case in Belgium.
For Auchan, the first seven shops are just the beginning. According to the unions, Auchan wants to develop franchising on a large scale and could even sell up to half its shops. However, the supermarket group would not confirm these figures.
