French Retail Giant Carrefour To Shut Down India Business

French retail giant Carrefour SA, which has been operating in India since 2010, will shut down its Indian operations and close its wholesale stores in the country. It will now focus on reviving its French business.

Carrefour, the world's second biggest retailer in terms of sales, will shut down its five Indian wholesale stores by the end of September. It has been in talks with Indian retail companies and strategic investors about its Indian assets in recent months. It is not yet known if Carrefour had found a buyer for the business.

The $500 billion retail sector was opened up to foreign supermarket operators in 2012 but mandatory local sourcing requirements and the policy of letting state governments decide whether to allow global chains in their states has deterred new entrants.

The Narendra Modi government has also opposed foreign investment in the supermarket sector, fearing it will harm small shopkeepers.

The world's largest retailer Walmart Stores Inc had called off its Indian partnership last year and put on hold its plan to open retail stores in the country.

Carrefour has already exited the markets like Greece, Colombia, Singapore and Malaysia in the past few years.