French La Poste has signed a five-year partnership with the supermarket chain Casino for theinstallation of food shops next to post offices in small towns with less than 12,000
inhabitants.For several years, La Poste Group has undertaken a major modernisation programme creatingfacilities for mail processing on the outskirts of towns and cities, thus leaving areas next topost offices vacant where distribution centres had been located previously.
Under the agreement, these empty areas can now be rented by Casino to establish food shops.Around 50 sites will be used initially across the country.
This agreement between La Poste subsidiary Post Immo and Casino Proximité, a subsidiary ofCasino Group, provides a triple benefit for La Poste Group. It can lease vacant space for localshops and thus therefore lower real estate costs while bringing more dynamism to the locations andimprove the service offering in the towns making them more attractive.
For Casino, the agreement provides an opportunity to strengthen its presence in towns with lessthan 12,000 inhabitants and meet the expectations of elected officials and consumers.
The Casino Group is a leading food retailer in France and abroad. It manages a network of 11,700stores. Casino Proximité operates 6,700 sales points in France including Petit Casino, Casinoshopping, Casino shop, Spar, Spar Supermarché and Vival with revenues of €1.6 billion in 2010. Thegroup is also present in Latin America (Brazil, Colombia, etc.) and Southeast Asia (Thailand,Vietnam, etc.) achieving 46% of its turnover abroad.
