Carrefour to close Singapore outlets by year-end
SINGAPORE: Hypermarket chain Carrefour has announced that it plans to close both its local outlets -- at Suntec City Mall and Plaza Singapura -- by the end of this year.
In a press release dated Tuesday morning, the company said: "Carrefour Singapore announces the decision to close its Suntec and Plaza Singapura stores before end of 2012, since expansion and growth perspectives do not allow reaching a leadership position in the medium and long term."
The French company, which opened its first store in Singapore in 1997, had previously said in 2010 that it would leave Malaysian, Singaporean and Thai markets.
In November 2010, it sold its operations in Thailand -- where it had 42 stores including 34 hypermarkets -- to Thai chain Big C, for an enterprise value of 868 million euros (S$1.36 billion).
But in the same month, it put off plans of selling its stores in Singapore and Malaysia, saying it was confident of creating more value single-handedly in Malaysia and Singapore in the medium and long term, rather than by disposing of those properties.
Then-chief executive of the Carrefour group, Lars Olofsson, said at that point that the two countries would become more significant contributors to the company's overall business.
However, other reports claimed that Carrefour had cancelled plans to sell its Malaysian and Singaporean assets after the designed sale did not attract expected bids.
In 2009, Asia accounted for 7.9 per cent of Carrefour's sales of 85.9 billion euros. Carrefour's two outlets in Singapore contributed 85 million euros in revenue that year, according to its annual report.
Separately, Dairy Farm Singapore says it has signed a lease to open a new Giant hypermarket chain at Suntec City. It is also exploring the possibility of taking over the space at Plaza Singapura after Carrefour ends its lease.
Little bit less opportunities .....
Bye Bye Carrefour , taxi stand will have less people Q-ing ......
Giant will takeover .....one floor .
Type of passengers also different from those at Carrefour , different type of nationalities .
suntec city?
plaza singapura?
seldom Q der unless the paxs der can send me to my next destination...
pax with carrefour plastic bags?
76.24% private estates...
turn here turn der to drop pax... turn here turn der to get out... 91.28% of the time no connection...
sincere apologies to those pax tat u are not in my list of target clients...
Originally posted by Khoon2580:suntec city?
plaza singapura?
seldom Q der unless the paxs der can send me to my next destination...
pax with carrefour plastic bags?
76.24% private estates...
turn here turn der to drop pax... turn here turn der to get out... 91.28% of the time no connection...
sincere apologies to those pax tat u are not in my list of target clients...
Agree with Khoon, somehow Suntec and Plaza Sing have always not been under my radar for CBD pax. I tend to go elsewhere to find and skip these 2 areas.
ya high % to private est, quite a bit to bt timah, sorry not my direction.
but at night after 10, lots of comfort cabs like to queue there, wait and wait.
If only Carrefour has got a daughter like Sheng Siong, maybe no need to exit, can expand somemore ...