Planet Retail 26 May 2008

Anders Moberg, CEO of Carrefour's Middle East franchise partner Majid Al Futtaim Group, has said in an interview that the company is planning to enter Iran with the Carrefour banner this year. "We are going to enter Iran this year with the launch of [a hypermarket under the name of] Carrefour, and have just bought land for a hotel there. Our regional market focus covers Egypt to Pakistan, including Iran, which altogether corresponds to access to 450 million consumers," he said. The entry into the Iranian market will make Carrefour the first hypermarket operator in the country.

"We don't have a mall in Iran yet, but if we do, we will definitely try to get Carrefour and other anchors that will drive traffic and attract a lot of people. It's part of our formula to succeed," he said. Majid Al Futtaim plans to operate a total of 30 shopping malls throughout the Middle East by 2015. Two current projects under construction include Bahrain City Center and Mirdiff City Center in Dubai, with both shopping centres featuring a Carrefour hypermarket as anchor stores.

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