With the start of 2026 trade negotiations just months away, Carrefour and Coopérative U are strengthening their strategy. On Wednesday, August 13, the two French retailers announced that eight German retailers were joining their European Concordis alliance, created in July for six years. This partnership aims to negotiate, from Brussels, the prices of some forty major industrial suppliers by pooling purchasing volumes. The newcomers, grouped within the RTG International central group, together represent a turnover of €31 billion and include 570 hypermarkets, 770 supermarkets, and more than 2 drugstores.
A cumulative weight of more than 125 billion euros
With RTG, Concordis now has combined revenues exceeding €125 billion, subject to approval by the French and German competition authorities. This alliance is part of a landscape where transnational mergers are on the rise: Eurelec (E. Leclerc, Rewe, Ahold Delhaize) based in Brussels, and Everest (Intermarché, Auchan, Casino with Edeka, Jumbo, and Picnic) based in Amsterdam. French authorities are closely monitoring these offshore structures, suspected of circumventing the EGalim law, which governs negotiations to protect producers and imposes a March 1 deadline.
A risk of circumvention highlighted by the agricultural world
Despite occasional sanctions, a comprehensive review of contracts remains difficult due to a lack of resources, fueling a feeling of impunity. In February 2024, in the face of agricultural anger, Emmanuel Macron had called for a "European EGalim" to prevent these European powerhouses from undermining the spirit of French rules. A Senate report published at the end of 2024 estimated that up to 50% of the volumes sold in large-scale distribution in France could be negotiated abroad, creating a competitive imbalance for brands that remained outside these alliances. In this context, Concordis illustrates both the race for purchasing power against suppliers and the persistent tensions surrounding the practices of large-scale distribution.
