PARIS — Carrefour SA, the world’s second largest retailer, has denied it plans to sell its operations in the fast-growing Chinese and Latin American markets.
“Carrefour is not in the habit of commenting on rumors, but given their recurrence, Carrefour denies the sale of its businesses in growth markets,” the French retailer said Wednesday.
Press reports here said the company was facing pressure from its biggest investors, including luxury titan Bernard Arnault, to exit China and Latin America.
Carrefour said its strategy to focus on France and other European countries in the short term, and growth markets like Brazil and China in the long-term, remains unchanged.
In the first six months of 2009, Carrefour’s Latin American business reported a sales hike of 18.3 percent, while sales in China rose 6.4 percent.