E-commerce specialist Shopinvest bids to buy Rue du Commerce from Carrefour

On Friday, consumer goods distribution giant Carrefour announced it has received a “firm bid” by French e-commerce specialist Shopinvest, owner among others of e-tail site 3 Suisses, to acquire, for an undisclosed amount, a 100% stake in consumer electronics e-tailer Rue du Commerce, which Carrefour bought in 2016.

The terms of the bid by Shopinvest, an e-commerce group founded in 2011, were not specified in the press release issued by Carrefour. “The offer will be submitted to the employee representatives of Rue de Commerce and will be subject to the other customary terms and conditions,” stated Carrefour.

Rue du Commerce has approximately 350 employees, and claims over two million orders per year are placed on its website, which features over seven million consumer electronics and household products from 1,500 vendors. It was founded in 1999 and initially specialised in high-tech products, before diversifying into other categories. It was bought by Carrefour in 2016.

In November 2018, Shopinvest, which is led by Karine Schrenzel and Olivier Gensburger, bought French mail-order and e-tail company 3 Suisses, a former market leader whose revenue had plummeted and which Shopinvest recently relaunched in a new incarnation. Shopinvest owns a total of 11 e-commerce sites, among them MenCorner, Bijourama, LemonCurve and DeclikDeco.

Carrefour operates over 12,000 stores in more than 30 countries. Last year, it generated a revenue of € 84.91 billion, and it employs 360,000 people worldwide.