n.36

Auchan: redundancies reminiscent of Conad- Auchan confirmed


On the 'social plan' and the group's losses read here. Today's comment : 'It was a bit written in advance,' says a competing retailer about the weaknesses of the northern group: 'A declining hypermarket model, a source of high costs and an important place for Russia, an extremely profitable market. For years, this balance allowed it to absorb business losses in France. But with the sale of its Russian operations underway, it has become urgent for the Mulliez family's food chain to take over its French operations, lest it suffer the same fate as its competitor Casino. Auchan, which is present in 12 countries, continued to lose market share in France, falling from 11.3% to 9.1% (including the Casino shops acquired this year) in ten years, while E.Leclerc rose from 19.9% to 24.1%. On Conad- Auchan read here

n.35

European chocolate groups lead opposition to delay of EU deforestation law


Nestlé, Ferrero and more than 50 other companies say the uncertainty is putting investments at risk. The law, which was due to come into force on 30 December, bans the sale within the EU of goods made from raw materials grown on deforested land from seven sectors, including cocoa, palm oil, rubber and wood. But it has been fiercely contested by producer countries such as Indonesia, Brazil and Malaysia, prompting the European Commission to say last month that it would postpone its implementation for a year. Other companies opposing the delay include tyre companies Michelin and Pirelli, supermarket chain Carrefour, and consumer companies Mars and Unilever. According to a report by Thailand's Krungsri bank this year, the deforestation law will impact about $401 billion of EU trade per year, about 5.5 per cent of all imports into the [EU] bloc in 2022. In its assessment of the law's impact, the committee estimated that the cost of compliance could amount to between $170 billion and $2.5 billion per year.

n.32

COP 16: the final text foresees the creation of a ‘Cali fund’ but countries from the North and South are opposed


which, under the auspices of the United Nations, is to receive the benefits of the commercial use of genetic sequences of plants and animals, digitised and stored in databases. Major companies are encouraged to pay 0.1% of their income (or 1% of their profits) to the new fund, which could generate up to EUR 1 billion per year. A list of the main sectors affected (pharmacy, cosmetics, food supplements, biotechnology, etc.) is drawn up.'This decision will finally involve companies that have been dipping into biodiversity for years to develop their products without ever paying the indigenous people who care for nature,' said the non-governmental organisation (NGO) WWF. The European Union (EU), Switzerland, the UK and Japan opposed any proposed mandatory tax.