YEREVAN/SEPT. 28 (The Conway Bulletin) — — French hypermarket brand Carrefour is likely to open its second store in Yerevan in October, France’s ambassador to Armenia, Jonathan Lacote, told media.

The opening of another Carrefour store in Yerevan is another sign that Armenia is recovering efficiently from a 2014-17 regional economic downturn. Carrefour opened its first store in Armenia in 2015.

Nikol Pashinyan, Armenian PM since a revolution in April and May, was also quick to hold up the promise of a second Carrefour store as evidence that the country’s fortunes had improved under his careful leadership.

He said that Carrefour had been considering downsizing when he took over as PM.

“One of my first actions was to visit the Carrefour supermarket, because at the time I took office Carrefour was the only supermarket operating lawfully,” he said. “I can now say that this process (of downsizing) is suspended and the process of expansion is guaranteed.”

Carrefour store openings and closings have become important economic barometers in the region. In May 2017, Carrefour closed its only store in Kazakhstan, just 15 months after Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev had opened it, because of weak economic conditions.

By contrast in Georgia, which has had a strong economic resurgence, Carrefour has said it wants to open a third hypermarket.

Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim operates the Carrefour franchises in Central Asia and the South Caucasus. There are currently 10 Carrefour supermarkets and two hypermarkets in Georgia, one hypermarket in Armenia and one in Tajikistan.
ENDS
>>This story was published in issue 387 of The Conway Bulletin on Oct. 1 2018