British department store Marks and Spencer has revealed that it is planning to return to France with a combination of its department stores and its Simply Food convenience outlets. The UK retailer is planning to open its first department store on the Champs-Elysées ahead of the Christmas trading period. It said it was in “advanced talks” with SSP, one of its UK franchise partners, around opening a number of its Simply Food outlets. The retailer said it is considering “strategic... ...Read more »

The head of PAI Partners has said the private-equity firm’s 50% stake in French yoghurt maker Yoplait will be put up for sale in the coming days.Lionel Zinsou, chairman and CEO of PAI Partners, told French radio station Radio BFM that the stake will go on the block “in the next few days”. He revealed that PAI had already received “a good deal of interest” in the Yoplait stake from trade buyers but did not reveal the names of the suitors. “It could be a French group,... ...Read more »

French retailer Carrefour is extending its Carrefour Discount range to offer fresh produce, meat and seafood. The company announced late last week (28 October) it would begin offering 30 new products under the Discount brand, including sausages, minced beef, breaded fish, salmon, prawns, mussels, fruit and vegetables. Carrefour said that according to Nielsen studies, almost one in two French households have bought at least one Carrefour Discount product and that the “success” of the... ...Read more »

French retail group Casino is planning to open 500 convenience stores under its Casino Proximité umbrella brand next year which spans its Petit Casino, Spar, Spar Supermarché and Vival chains. It said the expansion of its French network will represent the creation of more than 1,000 jobs. The unit already operates a total of almost 7,000 stores, including more than 2,500 outlets (Spar and Vival) under franchise and serves 2m customers on a daily basis. Earlier this year, in order to facilitate... ...Read more »

Bruno Le Maire, the French Minister for Agriculture has pledged a spend of EUR6m (US$8.3m) for the country’s organic sector.Attending a Grand Council Orientation Agency meeting on Wednesday (28 September), Le Maire announced a target of converting 30% more farmers to organic than was achieved in 2009. In total, in 2010, over EUR100m will be dedicated to organic production, the Department of Agriculture said, including EUR10m for conversions initiated this year. Le Maire said he had identified... ...Read more »

Carrefour has revealed an EUR1.5bn (US$1.97bn) plan to convert or remodel some 500 hypermarkets to its new Carrefour Planet concept by 2013 in France, Spain, Italy, Belgium and Greece.The Carrefour Planet concept was unveiled in late August and the new stores have been redesigned and adapted to its customers’ needs in a bid to offer a “new experience of shopping comfort, ease and pleasure.” The retailer is hoping the new format will turn around the struggling hypermarket, forecasting... ...Read more »

* Company returns net profit of EUR82m * Operating profits up 7.6% on savings * Sales in Asia up 8.9% at constant exchange rates Carrefour SA has returned to profit in its first half with sales growth driven by a strong performance in emerging markets such as China. The company said that for the six months to 30 June 30, it recorded a net profit of EUR82m (US$104m) compared to a loss of EUR58m in the year-earlier period. From continuing operations, Carrefour reported a net profit of EUR67m, compared... ...Read more »

French retail giant Casino yesterday (25 March) pledged to reduce the amount of palm oil in its products for environmental – and health – reasons.The company, which runs the Geant, Franprix and Leader Price banners in France, said it would remove palm oil from 200 own-label lines by the end of the year. “Palm oil is a vegetable fat. Even if it has good stability at high temperature and gives food a crisp texture, mass consumption may present risks to human health and the environment,”... ...Read more »

Food manufacturers in France are hoping to be the first in Europe to use the high-intensity stevia extract Rebaudioside-A (also known as Reb A and Rebiana), before the rest of continent receives full approval, reported Food Navigator USA. In 2000, the European Commission refused to accept stevia (also known as stevioside) as a novel food or food additive respectively because of a lack of critical scientific reports on stevia and the discrepancies between cited studies with respect to possible toxicological... ...Read more »