(Bloomberg) -- One of Dubai’s largest family-run conglomerates is setting up a new grocery retailer in Jordan, a day after it shuttered stores it operated in the kingdom under the Carrefour SA brand.
Majid Al Futtaim Holding LLC plans to launch 34 stores under the Hypermax brand in Jordan, according to a statement. The new venture is “independently owned and operated,” the property and retail conglomerate said, without disclosing further details on why it decided to distance itself from the French firm.
Majid Al Futtaim runs more than 375 Carrefour stores in 15 countries and owns the rights to operate the brand in over 30 nations across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Carrefour entered Israel via a partnership with a local player last year. It is among the international brands that’ve appeared on the list of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement, which calls for broad economic and cultural boycotts of Israel and Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
An online petition launched by the Jordanian branch of the movement to boycott Carrefour stores has garnered over 13,500 signatories.
In Egypt, Kuwait and Jordan — home to the largest population of Palestinian refugees — the movement has succeeded in steering many consumers away from companies viewed as supporting Israel. Earlier this year, Majid Al Futtaim said revenue from its retail division fell, partly due to “a shift in consumer sentiment related to geopolitical tensions in the region.”
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