PARIS, Sept 9 Reuters French multinational retail giant Carrefour is launching a franchise partnership with Dubaibased Apparel Group to establish its presence in India.

The partnership will be aimed at North India initially, with further expansion planned across the country and the first store openings expected in 2025, Carrefour said on Friday.

WHY IT39;S IMPORTANT

With a population of about 1.4 billion people, India is one of the world39;s largest food markets with the additional attraction of rising consumer spending power.

KEY QUOTES

Patrick Lasfargues, executive director of international partnerships at Carrefour, said The arrival of Carrefour in India marks an important step in our strategy of expanding our franchise in more than 10 new countries by 2026.

Nilesh Ved, owner of Apparel Group and president of AppCorp Holding, said Our goal is clear to offer the best products at very attractive prices to all Indian customers and make Carrefour their favourite brand to shop.

CONTEXT

India is grappling with severe food price inflation, which accounts for nearly half of the overall consumer price basket, weighing on the country39;s fastgrowing economy.

Carrefour, one of the world39;s largest retailers with 14,000 stores in close to 40 countries, previously tried to conquer the Indian market through a partnership with another local retailer, but withdrew in 2014, saying the market was underperforming.

Reporting by Tassilo Hummel Editing by David Goodman

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