ALGERIA – French multinational retail group, Auchan, plans to expand its footprint in the African retail market by entering a new market, Algeria, in the fourth quarter of this year.
The move is in partnership with the Great Way Group, a retail player operating in the Maghreb region, that will provide its knowledge of the retail market and its reputation to facilitate the integration of ‘Auchan in Algeria.
Algerian distribution group Great Way operates 80 outlets in the textile and sportswear sector. It has two warehouses in Algiers in the center of the country’s largest industrial and logistics hub, with a total storage space of 12,000 cubic meters.
The partnership will see the opening of a 5,000-square-metre Auchan branded hypermarket in the capital city of Algiers, and further expansion across the country is also being considered.
The entry will mark Auchan’s expansion to a third country on the continent after Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire. Since 2015, the retailer has been operating in Senegal, where it currently runs 37 stores and an e-commerce website. Auchan entered Côte d’Ivoire in June 2022, and now has 13 outlets in Abidjan and Bouaké.
Yves Claude, chairman and CEO of Auchan Retail said, “To continue and expand our development in Africa, we are entering into a responsible partnership with one of Algeria’s leading retailers.
“We share a three-fold ambition: offering residents a novel shopping experience; offering them products that are good for their health and for the planet; and contributing to Algeria’s development, as far as we can, by encouraging the creation of agricultural value chains and local food production.”
In addition, the two companies also plan to expand their partnerships with the food industry to bring Algerians a quality and responsible offer at affordable prices to create a modern shopping experience.
“Further development across the country is already being considered. We are also committed to promoting the creation of local and responsible agricultural sectors. At the same time, the establishment of Auchan will promote the development of the food industry in Algeria,” reads the press release.
They also aim to foster local, responsible agricultural value chains that guarantee healthy food and create jobs and value for the country, Auchan added.
Lloyds Bank says Algeria is the 4th largest grocery retail market in Africa, and the second largest in North Africa. The sector is said to be highly fragmented, dominated by a multitude of small, privately owned stores and hard-to-monitor informal vendors.
The French company will have to fight against the already well-established players such as Numidis (a subsidiary of the Cevital group) and its compatriot Carrefour.
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