10 May 2012: Food retail
The Autorité de la concurrence clears the acquisition, subject to commitments, by the Intermarché group of several independent retail outlets in the urban area of Beauvais under the brand name Intermarché.
On 4 May, the Autorité de la concurrence cleared – subject to commitments – the acquisition by the Intermarché group of several independent retail outlets running hypermarkets under the brand name Intermarché in and around Beauvais. These included the Intermarché stores of Beauvais-Nord, Beauvais-Sud and Goincourt, as well as a store under the brand name Netto in Beauvais.
The Autorité has identified competition concerns
In the Beauvais area, the Autorité de la concurrence has noted that the Intermarché retail chain had a substantial share of the market and only faced competition from two other retail chains as regards the Goincourt retail outlet, and three retail chains for the Beauvais-Nord and Beauvais-Sud retail outlets.
Despite the fact that the operation would not have entailed a change in brand name, as the hypermarkets in question were already tied to the Intermarché group under an affiliation agreement, the Autorité deemed that it removed any possibility of inter-network mobility for these independent stores and perpetuated an unsatisfactory competitive situation.
The Autorité has cleared the operation subject to commitments
In order to address these risks to competition the Intermarché group has committed to sell the Beauvais-Nord hypermarket to a competing chain, or failing which, that of Beauvais-Sud in order to ensure a more intense competition for the benefit of consumers.
> Full text of Decisions 12-DCC-57 et 12-DCC-58 of 4 May 2012 will soon be published on our website.
> Press contact: André Piérard / Tel: (+33) 1 55 04 02 28 / Mel