Organic food retail sector: the Autorité de la concurrence clears the takeover of 7 Bio&Co stores by Marcel & Fils, subject to the sale of one of these stores to a competitor
Background
The Autorité de la concurrence has today cleared the takeover by Marcel & Fils of seven organic food retail stores operated under the Bio&Co banner, located in south-east France.
However, the clearance is subject to a commitment to sell one of these stores, located in the Salon-de-Provence area, to a competitor. This commitment was proposed by Marcel & Fils to address the risk of harm to competition in this area, and will ensure that consumers have access to sufficient alternatives and can benefit from competition between several banners when buying organic food products.
The parties to the transaction
Marcel & Fils operates organic food stores under the “Marcel & Fils” banner in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Auvergne-Rhône Alpes and Occitania regions.
The stores concerned by the transaction are seven organic food stores operated under the “Bio&Co” banner, located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region and owned by Roloni, a subsidiary of the Teract group.
The seven stores that will be taken over by Marcel & Fils are the following:
| Bio&Co store taken over by Marcel & Fils | Address |
|---|---|
| Aix-en-Provence (13) | 90 Chemin de la Pioline |
| Bouc-Bel-Air (13) | 1596 Avenue de La Croix d’Or |
| Lambesc (13) | 22 Avenue Fernand Jullien |
| Marseille (13) | 201 Avenue de Mazargues |
| Vallauris (06) | 1955 Chemin St Bernard |
| La Valette-du Var (83) | 3 Avenue de l’Université |
| Salon-de-Provence (13) | Chemin des Cardelines |
A risk to competition identified in the Salon-de-Provence area
In the vast majority of areas examined, the Autorité ruled out any risk of a reduction in the offering, due to the presence of several competing organic food retail banners.
However, the Autorité did not rule out the risk of the transaction harming competition in the organic food retail market in Salon-de-Provence (13).
The Autorité considered that, in this area, the consumer would not have access, following the transaction, to sufficient and credible alternatives to the parties’ stores when buying organic food products. This situation risked leading, in particular, to a reduction in the diversity of the offering, a decline in the service level or an increase in prices locally.
To obtain clearance for the transaction, Marcel & Fils has therefore undertaken to divest, to a competitor, the Bio&Co store located on Chemin des Cardelines, in Salon-de-Provence.
The store concerned by this divestiture commitment is the store located in Salon-de-Provence (13).
With the help of an independent monitoring trustee, the Autorité de la concurrence will ensure the commitment is implemented
The buyer of the store concerned, put forward by Marcel & Fils, will be approved by the Autorité de la concurrence, which will ensure that it is able to provide a credible organic food retailing alternative in this area. The Autorité will ensure that the buyer has the skills and financial capacities to operate and develop the store on a long-term basis. The divestiture of the store in Salon-de-Provence must include all the components required to maintain the viability of the business, in particular its staff.
Decision 25-DCC-222 of 8 October 2025
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