Carrefour's Greek Franchisee To Buy 130 Stores From Rival

Greek supermarket chain Marinopolous has announced that it will buyout all 130 stores belonging to l…

Greek supermarket chain Marinopolous has announced that it will buyout all 130 stores belonging to local rival Arvantidis for an undisclosed fee.

The 130 stores are located in the northern part of Greece, primarily in the areas around Thessaloniki, Pella and Pieria.

Over the past year, Arvantadis have been fighting tough economic conditions- resulting in store closures and staff strikes because of unpaid wages.

According to Bulgarian trade publication Regal, Marinopolous, which is a franchisee of Carrefour, will assume the liabilities of its newest acquisition. Rgal say that there will be some inevitable store closures.

Arvantadis stores which don't close will be rebranded under the Marinopolous banner. Planet Retail note that the deal comes as somewhat of a surprise, given Marinopolous' own financial difficulties.

A year ago, managing director Jerome Lober said: "We mentioned earlier that the recession favors companies that move boldly."