Distribution. Intermarché and Auchan intend to form an alliance to better negotiate purchases

Intermarché and Auchan announced this Tuesday their merger “to discuss the bases of a long-term purchasing alliance”, with the aim of creating the first French purchasing center.

“The scope of discussions includes in particular the negotiation on the purchase of consumer food products from major national brands and the negotiation on the purchase of non-food products”, according to a press release from the two distributors, who are also partners for a takeover of Casino group stores in great financial difficulty. “This project aims to create the first French purchasing center in order to best defend the interests of consumers,” add Intermarché and Auchan in their press release, which confirms information from The letter. These discussions “complement” an alliance that already exists between Intermarché and Casino through the Auxo purchasing center, continue the two brands.

Competition exacerbated by inflation

At the end of November, Auchan and Intermarché confirmed a joint offer to buy all hypermarkets and supermarkets not yet sold by the Casino distributor. Intermarché has already reached an agreement with Casino a few months ago for the purchase of 119 of its stores, plus around sixty optional. Around sixty have already changed brands at the beginning of October.

The announcement from Auchan and Intermarché on purchases comes as Casino employees demonstrated this Tuesday in the Paris region and in Saint-Etienne, where the group’s headquarters are located, fearing a “slice sale” of the company. Competition is very strong between major retail brands, exacerbated by inflation which for months has brought the sector leader, E.Leclerc, to a pace that its competitors are trying to follow, including by buying stores in order to to increase their market share other than through commercial performance alone.