Sunday, June 10, 2012

Safeway for sale or not Carrefour just might be taking a look.



Carrefour’s cash conscious new CEO Georges Plassat completes consolidation in France, shows no sign of slowing down. With 20 new MBA’s coming on board in China for its 206 stores and growing, its planned takeover of Argentina’s supermarket chain Eki, 70 new supermarkets planned for Spain and continued growth in Indonesia; is there room for Safeway?  We think so.

We believe that Passat and his team understand the current value of the Euro and see an opportunity to obtain Safeway.  With global growth a focal point and the likelihood of diminishing value of the Euro this may be the time for Carrefour to enter North American and the United States.

Safeway continues focusing on cost cutting and share buy backs to bolster the bottom line.  All the while question continue to arise about its underfunded multiemployer pension plans.  Competition from Walgreens fresh prepared ready-2-eat food combined with Dollar store sector market share gains Safeway may not be up to the task at hand.

Carrefour a global leader in ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh prepared food simply may be better equipped to move Safeway back to an industry leading position.  In France Carrefour’s home base, demographic similarities of an aging population reduce household size preceded what we are seeing here in the United States by 8 years or so.  Carrefour has adapted better and leads the industry in package resizing, positioning and consumers favorite the ready-2-eat grocerant niche.  Carrefour is moving with consumers we believe it is time for Carrefour to enter the North American market place.

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a grocerant program assessment, brand, product placement or positioning assistance.  Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant.

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