Carrefour closes two stores of the former Artima chain bought for 55m euros

Carrefour retailer has closed two supermarkets in Hunedoara and Baia Mare less than two years after rebranding them from Artima to Carrefour Express. These are the first stores of the former Artima chain to be closed by Carrefour.
The French company paid 55 million euros in 2007 for the acquisition of the Artima chain from investment fund Enterprise Investors, with the supermarket chain then comprising 21 stores. At the end of 2008 the stores taken over were in the red, the same as in 2007, with the business stagnating at the value of the previous year, of around 100 million euros, according to the latest available financial reports.
"The stores in Hunedoara and Baia Mare have been closed in order to streamline the supermarket portfolio. This year we already opened three Carrefour Market stores in Bucharest, and are planning another opening in June in Bucharest, in the Home & Design Mall in Ghencea," said Andreea Mihai, marketing manager of Carrefour Romania.
Last year, the chain saw a similar sales decline to that recorded by Carrefour hypermarkets - according to data supplied by the retailer - although in 2009 the French started investments in the store chain taken over by Enterprise Investors, which can be put at around 6 million euros in 2009.
The company posted 1.13 billion euros (VAT included) in consolidated turnover in Romania in 2009, with 22 hypermarkets and 25 supermarkets.