Carrefour, the French supermarket firm, is poised to launch a network of new stores in Africa from next year, it emerged at the weekend.

This expansion drive forms part of the company’s broader growth strategy by its owner Majid Al Futtaim, the UAE-based retail developer, Al Ahram Online reported.

In 2013, Majid Al Futtaim bought Carrefour Group in a deal worth $680 million.

Alain Bejjani, the CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Holdings, told the media on Sunday that Carrefour’s Africa expansion plans were steaming ahead.

Carrefour’s African expansion plans across the continent are driven by the fact that the company holds the rights for more outlets than the countries in which the brand currently operates.

This October, according Al Ahram Online, Majid Al Futtaim has arranged to launch its first franchised Carrefour shop in Kenya, among East Africa’s fastest-growing economies.

The store will connect the Two Rivers Mall in Kenya’s capital Nairobi, under a transaction already signed in November last year.

But Bejjani refused to disclose further facts like the value of other recommended investments in the East Africa region, according to Al Ahram Online.

This year, Majid Al Futtaim, celebrates its 20th anniversary in business and is set to double in size within the next half-a-decade, it has said.

Carrefour will play a major role in the company’s new strategy to take advantage of the growth of digital retail, with the launch of a new website allowing shoppers to acquire groceries online and collect in store.

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