Future Group, India’s largest retail operator with brands such as Pantaloon Retail and Big Bazaar, has signed a deal with French retailer Carrefour, according to reports on Monday. Future Group will open Carrefour-branded franchise stores in India under the agreement, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the development. “We have not commented on this so far and whenever there is something we will make an announcement,” Future Group CEO Kishore Biyani told Reuters, referring to persistent media reports of a possible tie-up between the two.
A spokeswoman for Carrefour in France declined comment. Carrefour, which has been looking to crack the restrictive India market for seven years, had said in February it was in talks with Indian firms as potential partners, but declined to name them.
The Mint said Future Group plans to open between 150 and 300 Carrefour-branded hypermarkets in the next five years. Foreign firms are prohibited from owning multi-brand retail chains in India, a rule that is not expected to be relaxed in the near term.
Top-ranked Wal-Mart and Germany’s Metro AG operate so-called cash-and-carry ventures in India.
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