Paris: French retailer Carrefour has struck a five-year purchasing alliance with peer Systeme-U, stealing a march over rivals in a deal that will make Carrefour the biggest buyer in its competitive home market. The companies said on Wednesday they were in talks to jointly negotiate purchases with their main, multinational food and non-food suppliers, in a partnership that is also intended to favour French agricultural producers. The deal is the latest alliance within the French supermarket industry, which has seen US internet giant Amazon make inroads over the last year. In January, Carrefour announced plans to cut costs and jobs, boost e-commerce investment and seek a partnership in China in an effort to lift profits and compete with Amazon.
Earlier this month, French retailers Casino and Auchan said they had begun talks on forming a partnership regarding the purchase of food and non-food items, as competition intensifies in France.
