Carrefour will open in Yerevan probably in early March, French Ambassador to Armenia Jean-Francois Charpentier told reporters, Wednesday. Asked about the assortment of the goods that will be available at the hypermarket, the diplomat recommended addressing the given question to the competent representatives of the retailer. The ambassador said Carrefour cooperates with local producers in every country. I think, such an approach cannot but influence the consumer-producer relations, the diplomat said.
To note, according to the reliable sources of the agency, the Carrefour hypermarket in Yerevan was to work on the basis of a franchise owned by a large U.A.E. developer Majid Al Futtaim Holding (MAF). The company has already opened its first Carrefour supermarket in Georgia and is going to open a store in Azerbaijan. To recall, at present MAF has already 45 supermarkets in 13 countries. Meanwhile, Armenian oligarchs are concerned over the fact that Carrefour chain of hypermarkets is importing its products and sells many goods for low prices, which will undermine the positions of the local monopolist-importers, first of all the owner of Yerevan City chain of supermarkets.
Nevertheless, the French party did not yield its positions and had already enlisted the political support of France, given the visit by the French president to Armenia and the hypermarket.
The French retailer will open its first hypermarket in Arshakunyats Ave in Yerevan and another 3 hypermarkets later. The first Carrefour opened in Georgia yet 2 years ago, though the French retailer launched the process in both the countries simultaneously.