Ed was a French brand of discount stores founded in 1978.[2] It was part of the Carrefour Group[3] and primarily offered food products, with its own brand. It dissolved in 2013, but continues to franchise its name to small-format hard discounts stores in France as part of Promodès.

Ed
TypeHard discount
IndustryRetail
Founded1978; 48 years ago (1978)
Defunct2012; 14 years ago (2012)
FateMost stores converted to Dia
Headquarters,
Number of locations
916[1] (2009)
Number of employees
10,000 (2009)[1]
ParentCarrefour Group
Websitehttp://www.magasins-ed.com/

History

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The first store opened in Paris in 1978.[2] By 1987, its 100th store opened,[2] introducing produce and other fresh perishables. In 1989, Ed launched the Europa Discount brand for suburbs and provincial towns.[2] The chain expanded by 37 stores in 1991, with a total of 138 by the end of the year.[2]

Carrefour bought the Penny discount and Treff Market chains in 2006, which gradually come under the Ed brand.[2]

On 3 June 2009, there were 916 Ed stores in France and more than 10,000 employees.[1]

Re-branding to Dia

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In April 2009, a test of changing some 'Ed' stores to the Dia branding was announced by the Carrefour Group.[2][4] The shops of Villeneuve-Saint-Georges and Mâcon were some of the first. An insider to the company declared: "The decision to move all of the 918 Ed stores to the Dia banner is already certain. But the timing is not yet decided."[5]

By July 2009, Lars Olofsson announced the decision of the Carrefour group to discontinue the Ed brand in favor of Dia,[2] with 250 stores slated to be transformed into Dia by 2010.[6]

In June 2011, Carrefour shareholders approved the plan to list Dia on the stock exchange. This would mean complete autonomy for Dia as a brand operated by Erteco in France.[2]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 "Ed - les magasins 100% alimentaire discount du groupe Carrefour". Archived from the original on 2009-05-13. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "ED – Mémoires de la distribution" (in French). Retrieved 2026-05-22.
  3. "Hard Discount Stores - Carrefour Group". Archived from the original on 2010-09-01. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
  4. Communiqué de presse Archived 2011-07-20 at the Wayback Machine du groupe Carrefour
  5. Carrefour va remplacer son enseigne Ed par Dia <LeFigaro.fr> 25 April 2009
  6. Carrefour tente de se relancer en France <LaTribune.fr> 20 February 2010