Belgium supermarket chain Colruyt is considering the possibility of acquiring some or all of the Edah and Konmar stores from Dutch retailer Laurus, just-food has learnt today (17 February).
“We have previously indicated that we are interested in entering the Danish market,” Wim Biesemans, Colruyt financial director said.
On 2 February, Laurus announced its intention to sell two supermarket chains, Edah and Konmar.
“We have been considering a move into the Danish market for the past five years,” Biesemans continued. “This is the first concrete possibility to acquire a Danish retail chain and we are looking into whether or not it would be viable for us.”
Before this can be determined, Biesemans told just-food, several questions need to be answered. Colruyt, along with the rest of the market, is awaiting the release of the two chains’ financial details. Additionally, Biesemans said Colruyt needs detailed information on the logistical operation of the Laurus businesses. “Historically, Laurus have always said it would be logistically impossible to split the businesses because they are so intertwined. We would be interested to see how Laurus intend to solve this problem,” Biesemans said.
While Colruyt is looking into potentially purchasing some or all of the Laurus businesses, the company has not yet decided what, if any, stores they would acquire from Laurus: “Our stratagy is yet to be defined, we need to have answers to a number of questions,” Biesemans concluded.
