Official launch of Horizon International Services, an Auchan Retail, Casino Group, METRO and DIA alliance

Having secured the necessary approvals from the relevant competition authorities, Horizon International Services has been in operation since 15 February 2019. It covers 47 countries across Europe, Asia and South America in which the four companies, retailers and wholesalers, operate.

Horizon International Services brings together players that share a new vision of supplier relations, which, for instance, can go from putting services in place for major international suppliers, by drawing on their complementary geographic locations, to providing support for SMEs in their international development. The partners in this alliance also have interlocking activities (multi-format retailing, wholesale, delivery services etc.).

As with Horizon France, Horizon International Services will enable Auchan Retail, Casino Group, METRO and DIA to pool their resources to forge balanced and innovative relationships based on a catalogue of common, scalable services, in the best interests of all actors in the supply chain, from the manufacturer through to the consumer.

About Auchan Retail
Auchan Retail is one of the five largest world-scale food retailers, with operations in 17 countries (revenue of €52 billion in 2017), and covers all food retail formats with 3,778 points of sale under the Auchan banner (hypermarkets, superstores, supermarkets and ultra-convenience stores) alongside online shopping and Drive outlets in certain countries. To build a successful and modern business model, Auchan Retail ensures that its customers are always a core concern, through discount prices, the choice and diversity of its offering, quality of service, tailoring to local markets and factoring in of multi-channel shopping trends. Auchan Retail is the world's 35th largest employer, with 351,107 employees. www.auchan-retail.com

About Casino Group
Casino Group is a well-established and key player in the French retail industry as well as a leader in the global food retail market, with more than 12,000 stores worldwide – in France, Latin America and in the Indian Ocean region, thanks to its workforce of over 220,000 people driven by a passion for retail and customer service, generating consolidated net sales of €38 billion in 2017. In France, the Group successfully implemented its multi-format, multi-brand and multi-channel model by leveraging its large network of hypermarkets (Géant), supermarkets (Casino), urban supermarkets (Monoprix, Franprix, Leader Price), convenience stores (Casino Shop, Vival, Spar, Leader Price Express) and the French e-commerce leader Cdiscount. The Group is notably present in Latin America: No. 1 in Brazil with GPA and Via Varejo and in Colombia with Grupo Exito. In all of its host countries, the Casino Group focuses its development in formats with the highest potential and ability to adapt in order to meet customer needs, both today and in the future. www.groupe-casino.fr

About METRO
METRO is a leading international wholesale company with food and non-food assortments that specialises on serving the needs of hotels, restaurants and caterers (HoReCa) as well as independent traders. Around the world, METRO has some 24 million customers who can choose whether to shop in one of the large-format stores, order online and collect their purchases at the store or have them delivered. METRO in addition also supports the competitiveness of entrepreneurs and own businesses with digital solutions and thereby contributes to cultural diversity in retail and hospitality. Sustainability is a key pillar of METRO’s business. METRO has been the sector leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the last four years. The company operates in 35 countries and employs more than 150,000 people worldwide. In financial year 2017/18, METRO generated sales of €36.5 billion. In September 2018 METRO AG initiated the divestment process for the food retail chain Real with its 34,000 employees to transform into a pure wholesale company.

About DIA
Distribuidora Internacional de Alimentación, DIA, is an international company in the food distribution, household products, health and beauty sectors. In 2018, gross sales under banner reached EUR9.39bn, and the number of stores reached 6,157 in the countries in which it operates: Spain, Portugal, Brazil, and Argentina. DIA trades on the Madrid stock exchange.