Carrefour foresees US$ 869.6 million in investments until 2010
Valor Econômico 02/05/2009
Despite the economy's slowdown of the last months and the little enthusiastic projections analysts are making for the performance of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2009, Carrefour has decided to keep the expansion plans in order to fight to continue leading the supermarket sector in the country. Yesterday, on the eve of the inauguration of the eighth store in the state of Rio Grande do Sul and its third in Porto Alegre, the Center South division officer of the company, Laurent Bendavid, confirmed investments of more than R$ 1 billion (US$ 434.8 million) in 70 new units in Brazil this year. For 2010, the forecast is to keep the same rhythm of inaugurations with the release of more than R$ 1 billion (US$ 434.8 million), he informed. According to the executive, Carrefour has not felt the impacts of the crisis on the sales yet and he believes there will be no retraction in the Brazilian GDP. The expansion planned for the year may include acquisitions, as it took place with the absorption of Atacadão in May 2007, and the company expects to achieve a "two-digit" increase in the sales obtained in the country, said the director. He attributes the favorable expectation to the "balance" of the sales between food products and non-food products. Bendavid has not detailed the geographic distribution of the new stores planned for this year, which will lead to the hiring of more than 4 thousand people in the country (besides the current 62 thousand), but the expansion must include all the operations of the chain (hypermarkets, Carrefour Bairro, Atacadão and Dia%).