Metro Cash & Carry has sold its business in Morocco to Carrefour franchisee Label Vie.
The Moroccan retailer will take over all of Metro Cash & Carry’s operations in the country, including its eight wholesale stores, from the end of the month.
Metro Cash & Carry’s Moroccan operations posted EUR208m (US$283.8m) sales during 2009 and employs around 1,400 people but the retailer said it did not see “sustainable” growth on the horizon in the African market.
“This was not an easy decision for us,” Metro Cash & Carry CEO Joël Saveuse said today (22 November). “We see no sufficient and sustainable growth and expansion perspective for the specific concept of our self-service wholesale business in Morocco.
“This market exit also demonstrates that we are consistently benchmarking our country portfolio against earnings targets and will not hesitate to also make severe cuts.”
Metro Cash & Carry, a unit of German retail giant Metro Group, said Label Vie plans to maintain these jobs and turn the eight warehouses into hypermarkets.
