Ed (supermarket)
French discount retail brand
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ed was a French brand of discount stores founded in 1978.[2] It was part of the Carrefour Group[3] and primarily offered food products, with its own brand. It dissolved in 2013, but continues to franchise its name to small-format hard discounts stores in France as part of Promodès.
| |
Company type | Hard discount |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Defunct | 2012 |
| Fate | Most stores converted to Dia |
| Headquarters | , |
Number of locations | 916[1] (2009) |
Number of employees | 10,000 (2009)[1] |
| Parent | Carrefour Group |
| Website | http://www.magasins-ed.com/ |
History
The first store opened in Paris in 1978.[2] By 1987, its 100th store opened,[2] introducing produce and other fresh perishables. In 1989, Ed launched the Europa Discount brand for suburbs and provincial towns.[2] The chain expanded by 37 stores in 1991, with a total of 138 by the end of the year.[2]
Carrefour bought the Penny discount and Treff Market chains in 2006, which gradually come under the Ed brand.[2]
On 3 June 2009, there were 916 Ed stores in France and more than 10,000 employees.[1]
Re-branding to Dia
In April 2009, a test of changing some 'Ed' stores to the Dia branding was announced by the Carrefour Group.[2][4] The shops of Villeneuve-Saint-Georges and Mâcon were some of the first. An insider to the company declared: "The decision to move all of the 918 Ed stores to the Dia banner is already certain. But the timing is not yet decided."[5]
By July 2009, Lars Olofsson announced the decision of the Carrefour group to discontinue the Ed brand in favor of Dia,[2] with 250 stores slated to be transformed into Dia by 2010.[6]
In June 2011, Carrefour shareholders approved the plan to list Dia on the stock exchange. This would mean complete autonomy for Dia as a brand operated by Erteco in France.[2]
