Along with the Carrefour store, the brand
If the Competition Commission approves, Coop will take over the 12 large retail outlets in Switzerland operated by Carrefour, a French retailer with a global presence. Carrefour is thus consistently pursuing its global strategy, and Coop could ideally complement its store network.
If the Competition Commission (Weko) gives its approval, Coop will take over Carrefour's twelve wholesale outlets in Switzerland plus two projects in St. Gallen and Chur for a total of CHF 470 million, according to a press release issued on Tuesday. This means that the number one in European food retailing, the French Carrefour, is withdrawing completely from the Swiss market as a business and brand. It is thus implementing its global strategy of only continuing to operate in those countries where it can become number one or two - a difficult undertaking in Switzerland.Coop would double its wholesale outlets from 12 to 24 with this acquisition and would complement its Swiss network almost ideally in geographical terms. Coop spokesman Felix Wehrle told Werbewoche that he hoped that the Competition Commission would make a decision before the legal deadline of February 2008, perhaps even by Christmas as a gift. It is still too early to talk about advertising measures for the new 24 Coop megastores.
