“Not interested in Profi or Match”
Auchan on the other hand stated it needed to acquire another chain in
order to continue its growth in Hungary, after the new government
issued a ban on new shopping malls and hypermarkets.
Dominique Docoux, Auchan Hungary’s CEO, told penzcentrum.hu earlier
this year that Auchan “will respect the new law”, but that he still
considers hypermarkets to be a popular format in Hungary – words that he
now turned into action.
Katalin Gillemot, spokesperson for Auchan Magyarország, added that “Auchan only works with hypermarkets in Hungary, so the Profi and Match stores do not fit in our profile.” The acquired Coras will be rebranded as Auchans and continue to be operated as hypermarkets.
End of the line after 14 years
Magyar Hipermarket, the group holding the Hungarian Coras, opened its
first hypermarket in 1997 and currently holds three stores in the
suburbs of Budapest (Budakalász, Fót, Törökbálint) and four in other
major cities (Debrecen, Miskolc, Szeged and Szolnok). Its 2700 employees
will find a job within the Auchan group in Hungary, that will 12 to 19
hypermarkets. Auchan currently has 5600 employees and a turnover of 224
billion forint (€ 816 million).
