Entry of Carrefour hypermarket into Armenian market to create some serious problems for many companies in country

YEREVAN, November 27. /ARKA/. Entry of Carrefour Hypermarket into Armenian market creates some serious problems for many companies in the country, according to Hraparak newspaper. In particular, Carrefour demands discounts around 15 percent from suppliers and payments amounting to millions as cooperation precondition. Otherwise, no cooperation is possible. The Armenian authorities of his Dubai-run company have an ambition to occupy 50% of Yerevan's market. This puzzles suppliers, since if they don't cooperate with Carrefour, they will lose a huge market. SAS and Yerevan City supermarkets that operate in Armenia long time, on their side, intend to demand the same and even better preferences. «This may trigger price hikes, since, contrary to the foreign company's wish, suppliers and producer companies can't down prices at the account of their profits,» the newspaper reports. «To ensure a 15-percent discount instead of the current 3-to-5 percent discounts suppliers will raise prices to gain minimal profits, and as a result, ordinary consumers will suffer.» If Armenian suppliers refuse to cooperate with Carrefour, the company will start buying goods from other countries and will establish own industry, which will strike hard at small and mid-scale businesses here and will drive to closure of many companies. --0----