Bricorama to stick with Intergamma

The French DIY group Bricorama has confirmed its intention of remaining a franchisee of the Dutch Intergamma Group, thereby refuting rumours that it wanted to relinquish its operations in the Benelux countries.  Bricorama operates 34 stores in the Netherlands and 41 in Belgium under the Intergamma distribution brands Gamma and Karwei. It has a 3.4 per cent holding in the Intergamma franchise headquarters.At the same time, the acquisition of the French and Spanish activities of Bricorama by the Les Mousquetaires group (with its Bricomarché and Brico Cash distribution channels) is currently going through. The works council (comité central d'entreprise) has spoken out and demanded that the acquisition process be halted until the social consequences in particular have been clarified, according to the French industry service RBJ.The Benelux statement is linked to another rumour that the Irish builders' merchants group CRH intends to sell the 156 stores that it likewise operates as an Intergamma franchisee via its subsidiary Van Neerbos in the Netherlands and Belgium. If that happens, Bricorama will consider integrating these stores, according to a declaration by the French company.Bricorama's Benelux operations brought it sales of € 60.5 mio in the second quarter, an increase of 6.5 per cent over the same period in the previous year. Its cumulative midyear sales came to € 111.2 mio, 5.1 per cent higher than the midyear figure in 2016.Business in France has been less satisfactory, with quarterly sales of € 135.8 mio, slightly above (+0.7 per cent) the previous year. In the first six months, however, sales were down by 1.6 per cent (€ 242.0 mio). Sales in Bricorama's Spanish stores amounted to € 12.3 mio in the first six months, a downturn of 12.8 per cent.