The French retailer will have nearly 500 stores under its Minipreço and Mais Perto brands.
French food distribution company Auchan announced on Thursday that it had acquired “all the activities” of the Dia Group in Portugal, that is, 489 convenience stores of the Minipreço and Mais Perto brands, in addition to three warehouses, without specifying the amount of this deal.
“At the end of this operation, Auchan Portugal will have the first network in terms of the number of stores in the country,” the group said in a press release, adding that the agreement signed on Wednesday “between Auchan and Dia also provides for the transfer of 2,650 employees.”
Auchan Retail has 70 physical stores in Portugal and currently employs 9,000 people there. This acquisition stipulates that the group will acquire “489 Minipreço and Mais Perto stores, both owned and franchised, three warehouses, as well as the contracts, licenses and assets necessary for the operation,” the press release specifies.
strategic operation
“This operation is strategic for Auchan Retail in Portugal because it will allow us to cover the whole country,” Auchan Retail CEO Yves Claude assures, “we will have the largest number of points of sale in the profession,” confirms a press release.
He added that this acquisition will make it possible to develop in Portugal “an offer that covers all formats”, from “supermarkets to convenience stores enhanced with digital”.
Yves Claude also welcomed this “new operation with the Dia Group”, which “demonstrates the quality of the relationship we have with this major global distributor”. Last year Auchan Retail announced the acquisition in Spain of 217 supermarkets of the Spanish chain. The operation in Portugal is doing so “following Dia Group’s decision to refocus on its key markets as part of its strategy of proximity and streamlining of its organisations,” Auchan outlined.
The deal is subject to approval by the Portuguese competition authority, and “is due to be finalized in the coming months,” the statement said.
