Carrefour brings KPMG on board to sell India assets

French retailer Carrefour seems to have given up on pursuing India plans. The company

is said to have hired KPMG to find those interested in buying its India assets. The world's second largest retailer had, earlier refuted speculations surrounding its exit from the country.

Source say that the move has not come because of BJP-led government’s anti-FDI policy but the company’s headquarter is not keen on pursuing plans in India. Sources also claim that Jean Phillipe Garraux, Development Director for Carrefour India is also on his way out as Carrefour executes its exit plan. If Carrefour leaves the country as speculated, this would be the sixth market the French retailer would be leaving in recent times. Over the last two years, Carrefour has exited five markets including Indonesia, Columbia, Greece, Malaysia and Singapore, where it did not see itself gaining ground.

Its talks with Bharti Enterprises is said to have failed owing to differences over its valuation and the structure of the deal. The company’s stores are in malls in Bangalore and Delhi on long-term leases. It also has own large hypermarket in Meerut, Jaipur and Agra. Carrefour was positive about India until recently when it invested Rs 160 crores into to ramp up its cash-and-carry operation.

Carrefour operates five cash-and-carry stores in India. The last outlet opened in Bangalore in December, while the others are in Delhi, Agra, Meerut and Jaipur. Globally, the group operates 10,000 stores across four formats in 34 countries. As of December 2012, Carrefour had annual revenue of Rs 190 crores from its cash-and-carry business in India.