The CEO of Carrefour’s Japanese operations, Loic Dubois, has dismissed news that the company is selling off its Japanese operations as mere "rumours".
The Wall Street Journal reported that Wal-Mart, along with Japanese retailers Aeon and Izumiya, had placed a bid to buy Carrefour’s Japanese operations for approximately $300 million, in an attempt to crack the Japanese hypermarket space.
According to the rumours, Carrefour, the world’s second largest retailer by sales after Wal-Mart, had decided to sell its eight hypermarkets in Japan, which are located in various cities around the country, as its sales in Europe are flagging.
An Aeon spokesperson was also 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, 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".
Tokyo (JPN)
