Carrefour CEO Lars Olofsson has said he would like to re-enter Russia, where half the market is already in the hands of international retailers, including domestic rival Auchan and Germany’s Metro. “If we go back into Russia, it will be through an acquisition. I pulled out last year because you can’t win with little guns when big cannons are against you.”

In October last year, Carrefour decided to sell its operations and withdraw from Russia; a market that it entered at the beginning of the year. Carrefour said in a statement that it has decided to sell its Russian business due to lack of prospects for organic growth and opportunities for acquisitions that do not allow the company to become a market leader in the short and medium term.