Taiwan Sugar Corp (Taisugar, 台糖) is seeking assistance from French retailer Carrefour SA to operate the state-run firm’s retail outlets in Taiwan, as profits have shrunk over the past few years.
Taisugar also expects the collaboration to increase sales of its brand name products in Carrefour’s stores and on its e-commerce platform, the company said in a statement on Friday.
It has inked a cooperation agreement with PresiCarre Corp (家福), a local subsidiary of Carrefour, to run its five hypermarket stores and three supermarket outlets, it said.
The pact was signed by Taisugar president Kuan Tao-i (管道一) and PresiCarre president Wang Chun-chao (王俊超) in Taipei on Friday, Taisugar said.
Not only would Taisugar’s retail business operations improve, but the deal would also create job opportunities, benefit the local economy and industrial development, while providing better products and services for consumers, Kuan said.
“This cooperation will be a case of one plus one with a combined effect of greater than two,” Kuan said in the statement.
The company’s statement did not specify the financial terms of the deal, or an opening date for the new Carrefour-branded stores.
The Chinese-language Apple Daily reported that Carrefour would provide rental income and about NT$400 million (US$12.95 million) in guaranteed annual sales of Taisugar products.
As Taisugar would now be focusing on issues related to employees, store and product arrangements and supplier contracts, which might take about three to four months to complete, the stores would likely launch with Carrefour branding by the end of this year, Apply Daily quoted Kuan as saying.
With the addition of the Taisugar stores, Carrefour’s local retail network is to expand to 69 hypermarkets and 66 supermarkets.
Taisugar opened its first hypermarket in Kaohsiung’s Nantze District (楠梓) in 2001 and later launched four others in Yunlin County’s Beigang Township (北港), Pingtung, Tainan’s Rende District (仁德) and Taichung’s Situn District (西屯).
Taisugar last year recorded losses of more than NT$300 million due to the unfavorable macroeconomic situation and fierce competition in the local market, which prompted the company to begin talks with Carrefour in the second half of last year, local media reports said
Taisugar said that keeping its talented employees and quality suppliers for the Carrefour-branded stores is a top priority.
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