Auchan, Metro agree on joint acquisition strategy, Romania included

Two large international retailers, Auchan and Metro, recently shook hands on jointly handling acquisitions on an international level, hoping this would help them cut costs, the two companies have announced. The international partnership will also affect the way these companies will operate in Romania, where both run retail chains. The two companies will jointly negotiate acquisitions conditions on an international level, with multinational suppliers, including for their private label products. The two retailers will enforce the agreement in November 2014, for all acquisition negotiations in 2015. Auchan and Metro are not direct competitors: Auchan sells directly to individual consumers, while Metro targets the wholesale market, and professional buyers. Metro only runs mass retail businesses in the countries where Auchan is not present. Auchan took over the former Real store from Metro, including in Romania, and re-branded them. editor@romania-insider.com