15 March 2007 - Auchan, the French retailer, has signed an agreement with Ukrainian supermarket group Furshet. According to reports from Paris and Kiev, under the partnership agreement, Auchan will acquire a 20% stake in Furshet and two companies will be created in the process.
One company will created to help develop the Auchan brand in Ukraine. It will be 66% owned by Auchan. The other company, to be 50% owned by Auchan, will carry out the group’s project to build new hypermarkets in the country.
Auchan and Furshet are still waiting for approval from the Ukrainian competition authorities.
The move is seen as in line with the French retailer’s Eastern European strategy. In November 2006, FLEXNEWS reported that Auchan was to develop its own domestic network of hypermarkets in Romania by opening its first outlet in Bucharest and by investing a further 160 million euro to expand in the country.