French retail multinational Carrefour says it aims to be operating 90 of its specialist organic So.bio stores by the end of 2020, according to LSA Green.
So.bio was acquired by Carrefour in 2019. The retail giant is now rapidly carving out a space for its specialist organic retail brand at a national level. It already has 50 So.bio stores and reportedly plans to open 16 during 2021.
Launchd in 2005, So.bio was originally located in south west France. At the time of its acquisition by Carrefour there were eight stores in the region. Since then the pace of store openings has rapidly accelerated. Another 16 So.Bio outlets are due to be opened in 2021 (including seven franchises).
“Today, So.bio’s desire is to become the benchmark for organic products on the national market. We are prioritizing this development by supporting local sectors (around 30 local producers and 150 local references per store, note). We plan to reach 90 integrated and franchised stores in 2022,” Thierry Castillo, CEO of So.bio told LSA Green.
Carrefour evidently has big ambitions for So.Bio. LSA Green reports that the retail giant wants to build a division that can quickly generate sales of several hundred million euros, while benefiting from synergies in product ranging and logistics.
Main image: So.bio store, Toulouse. So.bio.
