French supermarket group Intermarché is expanding its footprint in the east and north-east of France with the purchase of 81 stores from Belgian group Colruyt.
The Belgian discount supermarket group Colruyt is set to withdraw from much of the French retail market, after agreeing to sell the majority of its stores to Les Mousquetaires group in a deal worth some €215million. The group owns the Intermarché / Netto brands.
The acquisition covers 81 of the 104 Colruyt shops in France, alongside 44 of its fuel stations.
Most are located in the north-east and centre-east, where Colruyt has operated since 1998.
These outlets, currently branded Colruyt Prix-Qualité, are expected to gradually reappear under the Intermarché or Netto banners.
Belgian supermarket Colruyt has 104 outlets in FranceGoogle Maps
The agreement includes retaining over 1,300 employees, plus some warehouse staff.
The Belgian firm said it had faced increasingly difficult conditions in France's food retail market.
Despite efforts to improve profitability, its French operations remained unable to generate the scale needed to cover fixed and logistical costs.
Losses have mounted in recent years, with the group reportedly posting a €20million loss for its French arm in the financial year ending March 2025 and some €60million over the last three years in total.
By contrast, Les Mousquetaires is pursuing an aggressive expansion strategy with the aim of capturing 20% of the French market by 2028.
