The Aura Retail purchasing center, created in 2024 by the alliance between Intermarché, Auchan and Casino, is changing its organizational structure to adapt to market challenges and strengthen its competitiveness. The new structure is now led by Michaël Halfon, Intermarché partner in Pauillac and Castelnau-du-Médoc, appointed president of Aura Retail Achats Alimentaire. He will be supported by Arnaud Rousset, also an Intermarché partner, as vice president of operations. Anne Le Breton, already purchasing director, will continue to play a key role in the management of the center.
The reorganization comes at a strategic moment: after commercial negotiations for 2025 and in view of those for 2026, Aura Retail is preparing for the growing influence of Everest, the European headquarters based in Amsterdam that brings together major players such as Edeka (Germany), Jumbo and Picnic (Netherlands). The alliance between Aura and Everest was signed in September 2024, after the exit of Coopérative U.
As part of this agreement, Aura Retail Achats Alimentaire – based in Massy – has begun the gradual transfer to Everest of the files of about fifty large multinationals. Although they represent only a small part of the more than 5.000 total suppliers, these companies account for approximately 50% of the turnover of the national brands managed by the headquarters. A “passing of the baton” that justifies the simplification of the organizational chart and the elimination of certain internal departments.
The structure of Aura Retail remains divided into five entities: three dedicated to food (coordinated by Intermarché) and two to non-food (under the leadership of Auchan). The new governance, combined with the cooperation with Everest, aims to strengthen the alliance's negotiating power and ensure greater operational efficiency in a context marked by strong pressure on margins and persistent inflationary dynamics.
