FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - The electronics retailer Ceconomy does not want to part with its stake in its French industry colleague Fnac Darty despite a recent disappointing development. In the past financial year 2022/2023, the Düsseldorf-based company was in the red due to a value adjustment on the 23 percent stake. "We are looking at this investment with a strategic perspective," Ceconomy CFO Kai-Ulrich Deissner told the "Borsen-Zeitung" (Saturday edition).

In principle, he would rather have a stake in another European competitor than the other way around. "And the markets for consumer electronics in Europe are extremely fragmented." In nine of the eleven markets in which Ceconomy is active, the company is either the market leader or in second place, Deissner continued. "Sometimes with market shares of 20 percent. That leaves plenty of room for consolidation." In the short to medium term, he believes that consolidation within a national market generates significantly more value than across markets.