Carrefour SA yesterday announced it would acquire Wellcome Taiwan Co (惠康百貨) for 97 million euros (US$108.33 million), and bring all the Wellcome supermarkets (頂好超市) and Jasons Market Place stores nationwide under its banner within 12 months of the deal closing.
The France-based hypermarket chain reached an agreement with Hong Kong-based Dairy Farm International Holdings (牛奶國際控股), the pan-Asian retailer that launched Wellcome Taiwan in 1987.
The transaction involves 199 Wellcome supermarkets, which have average sales areas of 420m2 and 25 high-end Jasons Market Place stores, which have an average sales area of 820m2, as well as a warehouse in Taoyuan, Carrefour Taiwan (家樂福) said in a statement.
Photo: CNA
Carrefour Taiwan would continue to run the 224 stores it is gaining under the deal, but would consider whether to adjust their locations as their leases mature, a Carrefour Taiwan official told the Taipei Times by telephone.
However, it plans to place the Wellcome outlets under its Carrefour Market (家樂福便利購) banner within one year of the deal being finalized, and convert the Jasons Market Place outlets to a Carrefour premium banner, given most of those stores are located in shopping malls and department stores, said the official, who declined to be named.
“We would have different strategies to operate the two supermarket chains, as they target different groups of customers and offer different products,” the official said.
Carrefour Taiwan has not decided how it would handle the employees of the two supermarket chains, the official added.
Carrefour Taiwan currently operates 137 stores nationwide: 68 hypermarkets and 69 supermarkets.
It expects to accelerate its development in the supermarket industry, Carrefour Taiwan said.
Once the deal goes through, Carrefour Taiwan would have 361 outlets, which would make it the second-largest supermarket chain operator in Taiwan in terms of sales, behind Pxmart Co Ltd (全聯實業), the official said.
“By combining these businesses, customers and team members will benefit from the group’s greater strength and scale. The quality, prices and service offered to Taiwanese consumers would thus be improved,” Carrefour Taiwan said in a statement.
Wellcome Taiwan posted net sales of about 390 million euros last year.
Carrefour Taiwan posted net sales of 1,968 million euros, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of 209 million euros and recurring operating income of 83 million euros, it said.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of this year, and Carrefour Taiwan plans to apply to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) for approval soon, it said.
“Whether the FTC approves Carrefour Taiwan’s application is crucial, as the firm is already a leading hypermarket chain operator and now it wants more share of the supermarket pie,” a market analyst said by telephone.
When an apartment comes up for rent in Germany’s big cities, hundreds of prospective tenants often queue down the street to view it, but the acute shortage of affordable housing is getting scant attention ahead of today’s snap general election. “Housing is one of the main problems for people, but nobody talks about it, nobody takes it seriously,” said Andreas Ibel, president of Build Europe, an association representing housing developers. Migration and the sluggish economy top the list of voters’ concerns, but analysts say housing policy fails to break through as returns on investment take time to register, making the
NOT TO WORRY: Some people are concerned funds might continue moving out of the country, but the central bank said financial account outflows are not unusual in Taiwan Taiwan’s outbound investments hit a new high last year due to investments made by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and other major manufacturers to boost global expansion, the central bank said on Thursday. The net increase in outbound investments last year reached a record US$21.05 billion, while the net increase in outbound investments by Taiwanese residents reached a record US$31.98 billion, central bank data showed. Chen Fei-wen (陳斐紋), deputy director of the central bank’s Department of Economic Research, said the increase was largely due to TSMC’s efforts to expand production in the US and Japan. Investments by Vanguard International
WARNING SHOT: The US president has threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on all imported vehicles, and similar or higher duties on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors US President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested that a trade deal with China was “possible” — a key target in the US leader’s tariffs policy. The US in 2020 had already agreed to “a great trade deal with China” and a new deal was “possible,” Trump said. Trump said he expected Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to visit the US, without giving a timeline for his trip. Trump also said that he was talking to China about TikTok, as the US seeks to broker a sale of the popular app owned by Chinese firm ByteDance Ltd (字節跳動). Trump last week said that he had
STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE: The group is proposing a consortium of investors, with Tesla as the largest backer, and possibly a minority investment by Hon Hai Precision Nissan Motor Co shares jumped after the Financial Times reported that a high-level Japanese group has drawn up plans to seek investment from Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc to aid the struggling automaker. The group believes the electric vehicle (EV) maker is interested in acquiring Nissan’s plants in the US, the newspaper reported, citing people it did not identify. The proposal envisions a consortium of investors, with Tesla as the largest backer, but also includes the possibility of a minority investment by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) to prevent a full takeover by the Apple supplier, the report said. The group is
RSS