Planet Retail 19 Feb 2009

Carrefour and the Algerian group Arcofina have ended their partnership agreement, less than two years after being established, Carrefour said. "The concept of mass distribution does not work in Algeria," added Carrefour. The partnership has also been undermined by difficulties in ensuring a continuous flow of stock into the supermarket, according to press reports, which also raised strong competition from local traditional shops.

Planet Retail 9 Feb 2009

French retailer Carrefour will enter the Moroccan market on a franchise basis. Just-food reported that Carrefour has signed an agreement with local operator Label'Vie to develop hypermarkets under the Carrefour banner. The first Carrefour hypermarket will open in Salé on 19 February. "Moroccan consumers will soon benefit from the Carrefour food-retailing concept, a model that has proven its worth across the globe," Carrefour said.

Cameroon Tribune (Yaoundé), 22 October 2008

Farming organisations in Cameroon want to surmount one of the greatest problems observed within the sector; that of getting suitable market outlets for their products. Meeting in a stock-taking workshop at the Yaounde John the 23rd Centre in Mvolye, representatives or farmer organisations and other stakeholders worked out a strategy to implement the fair trade market system hitherto practiced in Europe and the United States.

Planet Retail 5 Sep 2008

South African market leader Shoprite has announced that it will push ahead with its African expansion scheme, with CEO Whitey Basson saying that the retailer was planning to spend ZAR400 million (USD50.3 million) on expansion across the continent. Basson said the company was likely to open 50 new stores in Nigeria by 2013 to tap on the increased spending power there.

Reuters, June 07, 2008

Setif, Algeria: High world grain prices should make this a golden age for Algerian wheat farmers, but a legacy of mismanagement means the former Mediterranean farming superpower is struggling to regain its lost agricultural glory.

Planet Retail 13 Mar 2008  

Turkish hard discount retailer BIM has confirmed reports that it is planning to enter the Moroccan market by the end of this year.

Photo: USAIDUSAID's Microenterprise Development office (MD) and USAID Mali hosted the workshop:  "Developing and Financing Value Chains: Increasing their Productivity to Reduce Poverty" April 10-13, in Bamako, Mali.

The workshop drew a wide variety of stakeholders, including banks, producers, transporters, and exporters, as well as donor and project staff, to discuss the competitiveness and finance issues of the tomato, potato, rice, and shallot value chains.

Planet Retail 30 May 2007

In Senegal, Casino has converted all of the Score outlets to the Casino banner. In February this year, Casino signed an agreement with Monaco-based Mercure International to franchise Casino branded stores in Senegal and become a distributor of the retailer's private label in the country. Hadnan Houdrouge, the owner of Mercure International, has stated that the company plans to distribute Casino products to independent grocery outlets operating in the country and in some cases allow some stores to convert to the Casino banner. Mercure International, who has a joint venture with operating company, Groupe Ravi, currently has a network of four stores located in Dakar.

Source: Maghreb Confidential 15 March 2007

France's Carrefour retail group intends to open 18 hypermarkets in Algeria between now and 2012 with its local partner, ARDIS, an affiliate of the Arcofina group headed by Abdelouahab Rahim. Carrefour, which already operates a hypermarket with a floor space of 3,000 sq.m. at Hussein Dey in Algiers, has plans to inaugurate a new establishment of 9,000 sq.m. east of Algiers this year and then other stores in Oran and Constantine in 2008. The imminent closure of the Blanky supermarket chain will leave the market wide open for others.

France's Auchan has decided to build 10 hyper-markets in Algeria's biggest cities.  Auchan is to invest EUR150 million in the program over a five year period. It is setting up an Algerian-registered company to push through the project