Electra Consumer Products announced Sunday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Carrefour by which the French retail giant will open dozens of stores in Israel under the Carrefour brand.
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Carrefour is a multinational retail corporation headquartered in Massy, France. It is the eighth-largest retailer in the world by revenue and operates a chain of supermarkets and convenience stores. It currently has 13,900 branches worldwide and a sales turnover of €81.2 billion.
The franchise agreement between Electra and Carrefour is said to be for 20 years with an option to extend it for another 20 years. Both aim to finalize a binding agreement by April, Electra's press release said.
The agreement will see Carrefour open 150 stores nationwide, converting locations used by the Yeinot Bitan chain, which Electra acquired last year.
The first branches under the Carrefour brand are slated to be opened in late 2022, while Carrefour's brand products will start to be sold in Yeinot Bitan branches before the summer.
Carrefour is a world leader in changing food consumption habits anywhere and it provides its customers with access to quality and affordable food anytime, anywhere. Its brands are among the largest in Europe and the company, which is listed on the Euronext N.V. stock exchange, has a market value is about €14 billion. The company also carries out more than 2 billion transactions a year.
President of Carrefour's International Division Patrick Lasfargues said, "We are happy to have signed this agreement, which once again demonstrates the robust foundations of Carrefour's international franchise strategy. Electra Consumer Products is a company with a strong spirit of retail entrepreneurship, which it again demonstrated when it bought Yeinot Bitan in 2021.
"We are sure that Carrefour's advent in Israel with help significantly in improving the local buying experience and will strengthen the purchasing power of the consumer, who will receive better products at more affordable prices."
Electra Consumer Products CEO Zvi Schwimmer noted that "Carrefour's entry into Israel is the biggest and most significant move ever in the history of retailing in Israel. As a leading global chain and as one of the largest food and consumer products producers in the world, Carrefour will enable Electra Consumer Products to lead the food and consumer products market in Israel and to enter new fields.
"Carrefour's advantages are consistent with Electra Consumer Products' strategy of giving added value to the customer and leading in every field that it enters."
Yeinot Bitan CEO Amit Ze'ev said the French retail giant "brings with it a real change for Israeli consumers in terms of the shopping experience, in the variety of products and in the price level. The agreement with Carrefour allows us to skip over many obstacles that characterize the consumer goods market in Israel, and offer consumers solutions that do not exist in Israel today.
"Carrefour's entry into Israel will change the rules of the game in the market and give us an advantage over competitors, but more importantly, we intend to bring a line and change that will be felt in every home and offer solutions to the cost of living for Israeli consumers."
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