The CEO of Carrefour said that “the worst is over”, after the reverse of the sale of the Argentine subsidiary

Its recurring operating income increased 4% y 18.3% your profits per share adjusted in the first semester. He noted that it was due to the good performance in France, Spain and Brazil, and the progress of the ‘Carrefour 2030’ plan.

Regarding the Argentine market, the company recognized that continued to face a complex consumer context “due to macroeconomic tensions, high interest rates and low purchasing power.” Nevertheless, forecasts an improvement for the second half.

“The first semester was difficult. The consumer environment was challenging, affecting our performance and banking activities. We had negative volumes. But we believe that the worst is already behind. We are convinced and the new trade policy is giving good results,” he highlighted. Alexandre BompardCEO of the Carrefour group, and anticipated that they expect better results as the pressure of the cost of risk decreases.

“The new general manager I appointed reorganized the business model with encouraging results,” Bompard highlighted about Noel Priouxwho took over as local CEO on April 6 and succeeded David Collas.

The replacement occurred after Bompard’s lightning visit to Argentina in March, in which he toured branches and analyzed the operation, after being in Spain and Brazil. At the end, on his Linkedin page, he published a post in which he exclaimed “Let’s go Carrefour Argentina“, along with a video about the activities he carried out. There, he ratified investments for the country and assured that the chain holds “a leading position in the market.”

“In Argentina, market conditions were challengingwith strong pressure on the purchasing power of consumers. In this context, the initiatives implemented by the new management team promoted positive dynamics, with comparable sales growth of 23,5% and a gradual improvement of volumes, which returned to positive territory in June, for the first time since December 2023“, he detailed Matthew Maligefinancial director.

In turn, rated the beginning of july like “very satisfactory” “It is based on a new commercial approach that is here to stay and be amplified. We are confident in the dynamics of retail volume in the second half. That negatively impacted profitability in the second half, so we have more confidence in the second, Malige acknowledged.

And he added: “We had a weakening of the portfolio due to the consumer environment and we implement the necessary provisions. Even so, we did not observe further deterioration. Although monitoring will be carried out, we have already assumed the impact and do not foresee significant changes.”

In November, De Narváez presented an offer for around US$ 1,000 million to keep the brand and keep it in the country. He did it together with L. Cattertonthe largest private investment fund in the world, of which he is already a partner in Argentina in RHAPSODY, Dear Heart y Baby Cottons.

The sale of the supers aimed to be signed before the end of 2025with the formal closure at the beginning of 2026. Meanwhile, the bank transfer could be delayed due to the authorization of the Central Bank, as they are two separate contracts. But the weeks progressed and there was no news.

The bid for The price was not only for the stores, but also for the properties occupied by the chainadded to the fact that the French are not willing to get out of the business under any conditions.

“The review has already concluded. We have two types of markets: the ‘core’ (strategic) and three other countries, which are Argentina, Belgium and Poland. In those three countries, The offers we receive do not reflect the value creation potential they have. Therefore, their priority is to improve operational activity,” Bompard explained in February.