Planet Retail 23 Oct 2009

Metro Group will start work next week on the first of potentially 23 cash & carry stores in Egypt, a move Egypt expects will help boost internal trade and cut prices. The company will operate in Egypt under the banner name Makro.

Reuters 14 April 2009

ISTANBUL, April 14 (Reuters) - Migros, Turkey's biggest retailer, said on Tuesday it opened 97 stores in the first three months of the year, putting it in on track to meet its 2009 target of 400 new stores.

Planet Retail 8 Dec 2008

Tesco has opened its 100th store in Turkey following its entry into the market five years ago. The opening brings Tesco's total number of stores in Central and Eastern Europe to 750.

Plent Retail 24 Nov 2008

"Our future plan for Turkey is to continue growing both organically, by opening new stores, and by making new acquisitions. We are looking for potential acquisition targets," Guillaume Vicaire, Carrefour Turkey Managing Director has told the local press. "There is notable potential in Turkish retail as the market is fragmented compared to western Europe. Whereas here, the ratio of supermarkets is 50% of all shops and the remaining shops (are) traditional corner shops, in western Europe supermarkets control 80% of the sector," he added. This year, Carrefour has opened 38 stores, three of which were hypermarkets, and 35 supermarkets. Earlier this month, the retailer opened its first store in Tatvan in eastern Turkey, a town where previously no major supermarket had been present.

Planet Retail 20 May 2008 

German retailer and wholesaler Metro Group is preparing to enter Egypt with its chain of cash & carries. The first store is scheduled to open in late 2009, as part of an initial plan to open up to 10 stores costing some EUR15 million (USD23.2 million) each. Longer term, Metro believes that the market has the potential for more than 20 cash & carries.

Planet Retail 26 May 2008

During the celebrations marking its 15th anniversary in Turkey, Carrefour has revealed plans to speed up its growth in the country. "During the next three years, we will exceed our growth of the past 15 years," said Güler Sabanci, chairwoman of the management board of Carrefour's local joint venture partner Sabanci Group. The retailer will invest a further TRL500 million (USD402 million) and create 6,000 new jobs over the next three years, said Haluk Dinçer, director of Sabanci Holding's retail group.

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.

Planet Retail 28 Jan 2008

At the end of last week, Tesco announced plans to invest about GBP750 million (USD1.5 billion) tripling the size of its business in Turkey to more than 150 stores over the next five years. The retailer said it wanted to significantly increase its number of hypermarkets in Turkey and to break into Istanbul.. The expansion of the Tesco Kipa chain is expected to boost its revenues to USD5 billion once the new stores are operational, spokesman Gurcan Onol told a news conference. A spokesman said: "Turkey is a fast-growing and exciting market and we are delighted with how the business is performing. Entering Istanbul - the biggest city in the country - will bring Kipa quality and value to many more Turkish customers."

Planet Retail 7 Nov 07

According to unconfirmed reports in the Turkish press, Ahold ICA, Carrefour, Alfa Group from Russia and local firms Kiler and Ulker have made non binding bids for Migros Türk. The deadline for preliminary bids was Monday of this week.

Planet Retail 22 Aug 07 

On the same day as announcing its market exit from Switzerland, Carrefour yesterday revealed that it is "seriously" interested in purchasing Migros Türk in Turkey. "As Carrefoursa, we are seriously interested in the sale of Migros," Sabanci Holding Chief Executive Officer Ahmet Dorduncu told reporters, adding that the company did not expect competition rules to stand in the way of a deal. Sabanci is Carrefour's joint venture partner in Turkey.