City residents staying in Santo Domingo over the Easter holidays have a new place to go. It’s the Carrefour, a large supermarket and department store complex located "a minute off Km 9 of the Duarte Highway." This is a French investment of US$38 million, according to general manager Jose Silverio. Carrefour is part of Plaza Duarte. Carrefour is a 9,500 square meter store, with a parking area of 40,000 square meters. The investors have set aside 60,000 square meters for future expansion. Silverio explained to the Listín Diario that the shop features 10 kilometers of product alleys, and over 50,000 products, of which 70% are Dominican and 30% imported. It employs 750 people. Carrefour opened on Thursday, 6 April. Carrefour is reportedly only second to Wallmart as a major distribution outlet. The company has 710 million clients worldwide. Grupo Bernard Hayot that is based in Martinique made the investment. The company promises to compete with the best prices, taking advantage of its global buying power that having 710 million clients worldwide provides. Company policy guarantees the best price in town, or your money back. (17 April 2000)
