Auchan Retail to Operate Supermarkets Under Intermarché and Netto Banners Through Innovative Franchise Partnership With Intermarché

Cleary Gottlieb represented Auchan Retail, which on November 25, 2025, announced that it is considering a major change to its strategic partnership initiated in 2024 with Intermarché whereby Auchan Retail’s supermarkets in mainland France would operate under the “Intermarché” and “Netto” banners through a franchise agreement, while still being controlled by Auchan Retail via the creation of a dedicated and autonomous legal entity.

The strategic partnership with Intermarché was first materialized in 2024 by the successful joint takeover, through a consortium, of c. 313 Casino supermarkets and hypermarkets in France, representing total sales for 2022 of c. €3.6 billion excluding VAT (and excluding fuel). The partnership continued with, inter alia, the creation of a joint purchasing group, Aura Retail, now a major player in French retail that joined the international purchasing alliance Everest, as well as the Epic alliance.

Auchan Retail would remain a multiformat player in the French retail market, operating its supermarkets under the Intermarché and Netto banners via a fully dedicated entity and a franchise agreement, while reaffirming its position among the market leaders in the hypermarket format. Through this new milestone in their strategic partnership, the two major French retailers are affirming their common ambition to build an unprecedented model that combines purchasing power and enhanced commercial attractiveness for the benefit of French consumers.

The proposed transaction remains subject to the signing of a binding agreement between the parties and clearance by the relevant competition authorities and could take effect at the end of 2026.

The Cleary team includes partner Pierre-Yves Chabert and associates Christophe Dautriche and Carla Botalla. Partner François-Charles Laprévote, counsel Stéphanie Patureau, and associates Louise Caffrey and Augustin Bourleaud advised on antitrust matters. Counsel Jerome Hartemann advised on labor matters. Partner Anne-Sophie Coustel and associate Mathieu Gorain advised on tax matters.