Dia retires from France

The giant Spanish discount retailer, Dia has announced it is retiring from France. Operations in the country were struggling in recent period and business could not be saved. Now, Dia is selling its 900 stores.

The Spanish company tried to save its stores in France, but came up short. The project did not perform as expected, so Dia officials concluded the best thing for the business is to sell the entire operation. Dia has 7,500 employees in France and 900 stores. The process of selling all its assets has already begun.

“We have launched a plan to sell these assets. We took the decision to present out activities in France as discontinued as all the conditions to do so were met. We have the responsibility of identifying the best options for our shareholders, employees and franchisees,” said Lada Vadillo, Financial communication chief for Dia.

Dia has operation in six countries: Spain, Portugal, France, China, Brazil and Argentina. The company's results in France were down more than 11 percent in 2013 and eventually it led to the decision of quitting the French market.