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.

The region Eastern Meditteranean and Middle East, coordinated from Akdeniz University in Turkey, has released its first bulletin in Turkish.

Planet Retail 30 July 2007 

According to unconfirmed reports in the Financial Times, Carrefour is interested in possibly acquiring all or part of Turkish group Migros Türk in conjunction with its local joint venture partner Sabanci Holding. The report states that Carrefour's disposal of its Portuguese hypermarket network last week and the potential expansion in Turkey is part of its strategy of selling what the retailer sees as weaker assets in its portfolio of international businesses and to put those resources into more-promising areas.

Planet Retail 11 April 2007

According to Retail News Middle East, Carrefour has confirmed that Majid Al Futtaim Retail, its franchise operator in the Middle East, is looking at Iran and Syria as possible markets for expansion of the hypermarket group. While Carrefour refused to reveal further details, sources close to the company said that the group's first Iranian outlet is expected to open in mid-2008 in Tehran, and added that Carrefour is already in discussions with some of its key suppliers to determine which products will be available at the store.

Planet Retail 27 December 2006

Roughly a month later than originally expected, Carrefour has finally opened its first store in Jordan through Carrefour Amman, a joint venture between Carrefour and its Middle East parter Majid Al Futtaim. The outlet is centrally located in the capital city Amman, at Jordan's largest shopping centre City Mall, and trades from 10,200 square metres.