Carrefour exits Slovakian market, closing final Bratislava store | Progresiv

French retail group Carrefour has pulled out of the Slovakian market, after 17 years of operation in the country.

HN Online reports that the last remaining Carrefour hypermarket in the country, located in Bratislava's Danubia Shopping Centre, was closed last week.

Retail Value Stores, which franchises the Carrefour retail brand in Slovakia, has been in danger of collapse for some time, according to local media. Last year, the company gradually closed four of its five Carrefour stores, shutting hypermarkets in Trnava, Žilina, Košice, and Bratislava's Polus City Centre.

Plans to restructure the company were unveiled in 2016, and Retail Value Stores received additional funding from investor Jozef Špirko. At the time, Špirko told HN that the company was committed to continuing the Carrefour brand in Slovakia, and building up the business again.

Retail Value Stores has not yet commented on the recent closures.

Meanwhile, Denník N reports that discount retail giant Lidl is considering taking over the Bratislava hypermarkets. (www.esmmagazine.com)