Carrefour announces closure of Oman branches amid BDS boycott calls
French retail giant Carrefour announced the closure of its branches in Oman on Tuesday, in the latest hit the company has suffered due to widespread boycott campaigns.
The news comes months after the chain announced its closure in Jordan, where consumers are known to strongly follow boycott campaigns targeting companies accused of supporting Israel.
Carrefour did not give a reason behind its closure, simply saying it will “cease operations” in Oman.
“On behalf of Carrefour management and employees, we extend our sincere gratitude for your continuous support over the past decades,” the company’s statement said.
One of the biggest supermarket chains in the Gulf, Carrefour has been a major target on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement’s list of companies accused of having strong ties to Israel during its ongoing war on Gaza.
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BDS sites the chain’s franchise partnership with two companies “active in the illegal Israeli settlement enterprise”.
According to the movement, Carrefour’s partnership with Israel’s Electra Consumer Products and its subsidiary, Yenot Bitan, contribute to “apartheid, genocide, and human rights violations”.
“The Palestinian BDS National Committee salutes its allies in Oman and the Omani people who contributed to this achievement,” BDS said on X. “Let this success be a driving force to hold more companies accountable for their complicity in Israeli crimes, including genocide, against Palestinians.”
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Widespread boycott campaigns against BDS-listed companies such as Carrefour, Starbucks, Siemens, SodaStream, Expedia, Disney+, McDonald’s and others are believed to have caused them at least some financial woes, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa.
In February last year, McDonald’s shares fell nearly 4 percent following reports that a sales slowdown in the Middle East had contributed to its fourth-quarter revenue missed estimates, CNBC reported.
A month earlier, the CEO of McDonald’s said that the boycott campaign was harming sales in the Middle East, which accounts for 2 percent of the company’s global sales and 1 percent of its global earnings before interest and taxes.
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