6 December 2004 – Tokyo (JPN): The CEO of Carrefour’s Japanese operations, Loic Dubois, has shunned news that the company is selling off its Japanese operations as mere "rumours".
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Wal-Mart, along with Japanese retailers Aeon and Izumiya, had placed a bid to buy Carrefour’s Japanese operations for more than $300 million.
But an Aeon spokesperson was recently quoted as saying: "We have never had formal talks with Carrefour and we have nothing to do with the sale of its stores."
A spokeswoman from Wal-Mart International Holdings, Billie Cole, said that the company would give no specific comments on the issue, although she admitted that Wal-Mart "was interested in growing and interested in opportunities as they come along".
