Bazaar shops that will sell fruits and vegetables? The surprising offer of Grand Frais that wants to take over between 25 and 30 Gifi stores

The food distributor Grand Frais wants to buy thirty Gifi stores, the two brands announced this Wednesday: the first, in development, with the hope of strengthening its territorial network, while the second, in difficulties, seeks to guarantee its sustainability.

“Grand Frais and Gifi have joined forces with a view to the sale” of between 25 and 30 stores, they explain in a joint statement, confirming the information from the specialized site LSA. The definitive completion of the operation, the amount of which has not been communicated, “is planned for 2026”, subject in particular to the “necessary regulatory authorizations”.

Assuring that it wants to “do everything possible to preserve employment,” Grand Frais also intends to offer “a position with restoration of seniority” to interested Gifi employees. This “external growth operation with several stores involved” would be “a first” for the fresh produce specialist, the president of the Grand Frais administration, Jean-Paul Mochet, told AFP, assuring that he was not “in a race for square meters.”

“Rather” stores located on the “periphery”

Created in 1997, Grand Frais has around twenty openings a year, for a total of 335 points of sale, mainly in France. Kantar estimates its unprecedented turnover between 4,500 and 5,000 million euros, according to the manager. The Gifi stores that interest him are “rather” located on the “periphery”, in “dense commercial areas” and are “approximately the same size” as a Grand Frais, explains Jean-Paul Mochet.

For its part, Gifi, specialized in low-cost household items, “is committed to the consolidation and valorization of its assets to guarantee their sustainability and preserve employment,” according to the statement. “When we start selling family jewelry, things don’t go well,” Laurent Mardaga, CFDT delegate at the Gifi headquarters in Villeneuve-sur-Lot (Lot-et-Garonne), lamented to AFP.

Faced with competition from other stores (Action, Maxibazar) and Internet platforms such as Temu, the brand obtained a financial support plan from its banks in January, through new governance and the withdrawal of the brand’s founder, Philippe Ginestet. At the end of July, the group had 6,800 employees and 620 points of sale in France and internationally, for a turnover of 1.2 billion euros in 2024. Asked by AFP, Gifi’s management did not comment.