Horizon will operate internationally in three areas:
- "Horizon - International Services"
Auchan Retail, Casino Group and METRO (including Real) will offer international services to their flagship suppliers, based on their geographically complementary locations and their presence in high potential countries. - "Horizon - International SMEs"
Auchan Retail, Casino Group and METRO will support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in their international development. - "Horizon - International Tenders"
Auchan Retail and Casino Group will be able to launch tenders for their overheads and their own, non-competitive, differentiating brands. These platforms are located in Geneva. Other partners may also join soon.
In France, Horizon will operate in three areas:
- "Horizon - National Brands"
Auchan Retail, Casino Group, METRO France and Schiever will jointly negotiate their purchases with the major manufacturers of national brands. Small and medium-sized businesses and farmers are not affected. - "Horizon - Tenders"
Auchan Retail, Casino Group, METRO and Schiever will jointly launch tenders for their overheads and their own, non-competitive, differentiating brands. - "Horizon Sectors"
Auchan Retail, Casino Group and Schiever will jointly develop agricultural areas in line with the commitments they have made in the framework of the Généraux de l'Alimentation (Round table on food in France). The first four areas will be announced in the coming weeks.
In France, these Next Generation platforms are committed to:
- Presenting negotiating objectives at a very early stage;
- set up a monitoring body for the negotiations, involving representatives from the suppliers;
- To complete the annual negotiations step by step, usually one month before the deadline of 1 March;
- To systematize the discussions on nutrition and health;
- To create multi-annual agreements;
- To guarantee a fair treatment of agricultural producers.
By building Horizon, both internationally and in France, Auchan Retail, Casino Group, METRO and Schiever have confirmed their shared vision and culture regarding their supplier relationships. On this basis, the agreements take into account the interests of all stakeholders: customers, farmers and producers. Parties will continue to determine their business and commercial strategy independently. This includes independent pricing and marketing strategies. The cooperations will be submitted to the relevant antitrust authorities for approval. The French antitrust authorities were already informed about the cooperation project in France on May 18.
Source: metroag.de
