Finance
Carrefour to sell Italy business, reports improving sales growth
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 24, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 24, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Carrefour is selling its Italian business to NewPrinces Group to enhance growth. Q2 sales rose by 4.4%, with France showing positive growth for the first time since 2023.
By Helen Reid
LONDON (Reuters) -Carrefour, Europe's biggest food retailer, has agreed to sell its loss-making business in Italy to food and drinks manufacturer NewPrinces Group as part of a strategic review kicked off earlier this year.
The sale of Carrefour Italy, which operates 1,188 stores but made a 67 million euro ($78.85 million) operating loss last year, will help boost Carrefour's growth, profitability and cash generation, the French-based retailer said in a statement.
The deal gives Carrefour Italy an enterprise value of around 1 billion euros, Italy-based NewPrinces Group said in a separate statement, and should close by the end of the third quarter subject to regulatory approval.
Carrefour also reported stronger second-quarter sales as price cuts helped to attract more inflation-weary shoppers particularly in France, its biggest market.
Overall, Carrefour's second-quarter sales grew 4.4% on a like-for-like basis from a year earlier, building on 2.9% growth in the first quarter. In France, like-for-like sales returned to growth for the first time since 2023, up 2.1% compared to a year ago.
"Volumes declined at a historic rate after the wave of hyperinflation in 2022 and 2023, but we are seeing a gradual recovery in purchasing power, which is evidenced by volumes increasing [in the second quarter]," Chief Financial Officer Matthieu Malige told journalists on a call.
Carrefour plans to keep lowering prices in the second half as it tries to keep improving its competitive position, Malige added.
The group's first-half sales totalled 46.559 billion euros, up from 44.863 billion euros a year earlier.
"Carrefour's business saw a clear acceleration in the first half of 2025, driven by the momentum in its three core countries: France, Spain, and Brazil," Carrefour CEO Alexandre Bompard said in a statement.
However, Carrefour's profitability remained under pressure, with its first-half operating margin falling to 1.6% from 1.8% a year ago.
($1 = 0.8498 euros)
(Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Susan Fenton)
Carrefour is selling its Italian business to food and drinks manufacturer NewPrinces Group.
Carrefour Italy made a 67 million euro ($78.85 million) operating loss last year.
Carrefour reported a 4.4% growth in second-quarter sales on a like-for-like basis, building on a 2.9% growth in the first quarter.
Carrefour plans to continue lowering prices in the second half to improve its competitive position.
Carrefour's first-half operating margin fell to 1.6%, down from 1.8% a year ago.
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