French supermarket Leclerc is to appeal against a court decision ordering its purchasing arm, Galec, to re-imburse “discounts” totalling €23.3m (US$27.5M) made by a group of some 28 suppliers.


The court found that Galec had breached French commercial law in receiving the discounts, paid retroactively, for commercial services which it had not provided.


Leclerc’s president, Michel-Edouard Leclerc described the court’s decision as “surreal” and claimed none of the suppliers in question were looking to be reimbursed or considered their interests to have been compromised.