French retailer Carrefour plans to sell its assets in Poland, and one of the potential contenders for their acquisition could be the Ukrainian Fozzy Group, which owns the Silpo supermarket chain, according to wiadomoscihandlowe.pl.
Although analysts consider the most likely scenario to be the division of Carrefour’s Polish business among several players — including those outside the grocery sector — sources do not rule out that Silpo could become the “dark horse” in the deal.
Fozzy Group is Ukraine’s second-largest food retailer after ATB. As of June 2025, the company operated 840 stores under the brands Silpo, Fora, Thrash!, Fozzy, Le Silpo, Favore, and Foodpod. Over the past year, the network expanded by 14 new locations, excluding stores in occupied territories.
Interestingly, Fozzy already has an indirect presence in Poland: since late 2023, the company has owned 90% of the Polish firm IDKFA IDCLIP, which operates a Carrefour store in Poznań under a franchise model. The remaining 10% belongs to Maciej Gawroński, Fozzy Group’s logistics director. This cooperation has allowed the Ukrainian company to study the specifics of Carrefour Polska’s operations in detail, particularly in the franchise segment.
Earlier, Silpo owner Volodymyr Kostelman repeatedly expressed plans to launch a supermarket chain in Poland. Even before the war, Fozzy had studied global retail practices in the U.S., U.K., France, and other countries. Since 2023, the company has been actively exploring the Polish market, collaborating with local farmers, brewers, and chefs.
According to the French outlet La Lettre, in September, Carrefour and JP Morgan created a special data room — a platform allowing potential investors to review confidential information about the Polish business.
For Silpo, Carrefour’s Polish assets — particularly its supermarket network — could present a unique opportunity to enter the large EU market. Currently, Carrefour Polska operates 768 stores, including 95 hypermarkets, 148 supermarkets, and over 500 Express-format outlets.
Experts believe Silpo’s interest in Poland stems from the large Ukrainian community in the country — about 1.5 million people, forming a natural customer base. At the same time, analysts caution that building a systemic retail business in Poland could be challenging due to logistical constraints, as Silpo’s nearest distribution center is located in Lviv.
According to Ihor Huhlya, Director of GT Partners Ukraine, the most probable scenario could involve partial acquisition of Carrefour stores by the Ukrainian chain, followed by their gradual integration under the Silpo brand.
For now, Fozzy Group has not commented on its potential participation in the deal. However, experts note that the Ukrainian retailer could be the most suitable buyer — as a new market entrant, it would not raise antitrust concerns, unlike established giants such as Biedronka or Lidl.
