The French retail community is mourning Paul-Louis Halley, a founder of grocery giant Promodes, which merged with Carrefour in 1999.
Halley, 69, died when a light aircraft he was travelling in crashed near Oxford last Sunday. His wife Annick and the pilot were also killed.
Halley's career began at his father's Normandy wholesale business. In 1961, Halley Freres merged with a rival and Promodes was born. The retailer opened its first supermarket in 1962 and then began opening hypermarkets.
Promodes subsequently pushed into Germany and established the Spanish Dia discount chain. It floated in 1979 and continued to expand internationally.
Carrefour chairman and chief executive Daniel Bernard said: 'Paul-Louis Halley stamped his personality on our country's economy and his profession on a European level.'
Marks & Spencer chairman Luc Vandevelde, a former Promodes protege of Halley's, said: 'It's a great personal loss and I'm giving all my support to the family.'
No comments yet