DEN BOSCH, 01/02/06 - Supermarket concern Laurus is selling its Edah and Konmar Superstores formulas. It will now focus exclusively on Super De Boer.

The company has no more money to invest in further conversion of the stores into the new Lekker & Laag (Tasty & Low) formula, it said yesterday. Laurus has agreed with its banks that its net debt must come down to 200 million euros from around 370 million at present. The only way to do so is to sell off units.

A Laurus spokesman said the intention is to sell the store chains this year. Casino is behind the plan, he added. The French large shareholder saved Laurus from financial disaster in 2002, but apparently is no longer prepared to put more money in the company.

No talks are yet underway on the sales. But competitor Ahold is interested in acquiring parts of Laurus via its Albert Hein and Schuitema subsidiaries, the two subsidiaries said yesterday.

Edah has 276 (small) outlets, employing a total of 7,700. Konmar has 44 (large) stores and 4,200 staff. In the case of both chains, conversion to Lekker & Laag is yielding insufficient results. To date, 77 Edahs and 3 Konmars have been converted. The new stores are not doing badly, but the positive results are not sufficient to offset pressure on margins. The sale of both chains will mean nearly 300 job-losses at the head office.

Supermarket analyst Gerard Rutte terms it incredible that Laurus is selling the store formulas. "It is an enormous upheaval. The rumour is that the Jumbo chain will acquire Konmar with Laurus then acting as supplier. How things will go with Edah, I do not know."

Laurus terms the Super de Boer formula the most promising. By concentrating on this formula, the company hopes to be able to operate strongly and successfully. Super de Boer is a so-called 'full service supermarket chain'. It has 380 stores, of which 191 are franchised to independent operators who hire the formula from Laurus.