Lespagnol, Carrefour: We will expand as fast as we can

Patrice Lespagnol, who has been at the helm of Carrefour Romania since April, said in one of his first public appearances that his current priority is expansion of the two networks operated locally – Carrefour (hypermarkets) and Carrefour Express (supermarkets). The company will end the year with a double hypermarket network, after it inaugurates another 4-5 stores, in addition to the 6 already opened since the beginning of the year. As of 2009, the retailer will also expand the Carrefour Express network (formerly Artima network), which currently numbers 21 supermarkets. “In Romania, we are going as fast as we can. The market has a very good growth rate, there are very encouraging development prospects,” says Lespagnol. The 50 year-old French manager is at his first experience on the local market, having come to Romania after running Carrefour Spain’s hypermarket division for three years.