Russia: Nestlé, Auchan and Leroy Merlin’s operations seized

The British consumer goods giant Unilever and the Dutch brewer Heineken have both sold their Russian subsidiaries to a company owned by the industrialist and Kremlin ally Alexei Sagal.
In July, Reckitt, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, agreed to sell part of its Russian business to Sagal after being hit by a new round of EU sanctions. Ferrero, on the other hand, has remained in Russia.

King Kullen: why the first US supermarket was at the forefront of global distribution

Italian, French and British retailers have drawn inspiration and lessons from their American counterparts. And the chain that opened its first supermarket 96 years ago is still family-owned: in June, King Kullen appointed its first female president, Tracey Cullen, the founder’s great-granddaughter

Quick Take — Tesco is considering selling its European operations

Drafted on 8 July, updated on 14 July 2026.

According to the Financial Times, the supermarket chain is exploring options with its banks for its operations in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, where it employs over 22,000 people. The sale of the business would put an end to Tesco’s ambitions outside the UK and Ireland, including its failed attempt to build a new supermarket chain from scratch in the United States.

I visited a Tesco in Budapest in 2008 and didn’t come away with a very good impression.

Tesco’s latest figures can be found here: turnover from the Central European division is marginal, accounting for 6.2 per cent of the total.

The EBIT figures (operating profit: the blue line shows the trend in Central Europe’s EBIT) below are taken from a subsequent Financial Times article which reminds us all that purchasing in the retail sector takes place at a local, country-specific level.

This has been one of the major obstacles to the internationalisation of Carrefour, Walmart, Auchan and Rewe, for example: the approach is international, but the products are, for the most part, local.

Quick Take — France: negotiations between large-scale retailers and independent retailers could prevent price rises of 37 per cent

This advert appeared recently in various newspapers in response to a number of political attacks on the way the French retail sector manages its procurement.

The clear message for an Italy that often acts in a ‘disorganised’ manner is this: the French large-scale retail sector (Leclerc, Carrefour, Intermarché, Système U and Auchan) is not afraid – of the government, the competition authorities, etc. – and stands united against brand manufacturers to protect French consumers’ purchasing power from inflation.

And this is regardless of the policy and methodology used to calculate any price increases.

Quick Take — Auchan Retail is selling its stake in Auchan Hungary. And in France, it has lost 2.7 billion over the past five years

Source: Hungary and Source: on losses in France, although the article states that Auchan’s market share in France is 8 per cent: in reality, it is now almost half that: 5.8% in the latest period, down 0.3% on the previous period, when it stood at 6.1%, representing a fall of0.4% compared with the period before that. It stood at 8.3% – by volume – three years ago.

Auchan is suffering from an internal crisis that has caused it to lose its leadership in the hypermarket segment, once the brand’s flagship format.

In Italy, it has sold its network to Conad.

Quick Take — Leclerc: a unique ‘discount’ offer on personal care products

Leclerc, the undisputed leader in the French retail sector, has managed to surprise not only its customers but us as well with a range of personal hygiene products priced at €2.50, given that, today, around one in two French people cannot afford to buy personal hygiene products.

Leclerc’s range – having become the leader in hypermarkets over the years, at the expense of Carrefour and Auchan – includes five products: soap, shampoo, toothpaste, a toothbrush and cotton buds.

The expression ‘douche froide’ is a very French play on words that highlights the poverty of a large part of the population and the shock of recent impoverishment for a significant proportion of them.