Carrefour takes stake in halal chain Hmarket

French supermarket chain Carrefour has taken a 10 % stake in Hmarket, a supermarket chain with branches in France and Belgium. This investment of ten million euros should strengthen the existing cooperation between the two chains.

Strategic cooperation

Carrefour and Hmarket are no strangers to each other: Hmarket is already a private-label supplier for France’s largest retailer. Moreover, Hmarket already took over some stores of Carrefour’s discount chain Supeco, French website L’Informé reports. The new investment should allow Hmarket to benefit from economies of scale, while Carrefour hopes to significantly increase its market share among the Muslim population.

Hmarket grew out of a halal butcher’s shop in 2006 and has since expanded into a chain of two dozen branches in France (mainly around Paris) and Belgium (with two branches in Anderlecht, Brussels). In addition to halal products, the chain mainly boasts what it calls its unbeatable prices. Last year, the chain achieved sales of 300 million euros, LSA reports. By comparison, Carrefour’s sales reached 94.55 billion euros last year.