French Grocer Carrefour plans to double store numbers in Malaysia to 40 by 2012. Chief executive Guillaume de Colonges said the expansion was in line with its strategy of positioning itself to be the top foreign hypermarket operator in the country.

He added that the retailer was committed to growth in the country, having recently opened the first Carrefour Market store there. “We want to do in three years what we took 15 years to do before,” de Colonges said, referring to the 20 stores Carrefour will operate in Malaysia by the year-end.

While Carrefour was the first entrant in Malaysia in 1994, it is the smallest player in terms of stores and sales, trailing Tesco and Dairy Farm.