Carrefour to spend $1.9 billion to revamp hypermarkets

Paris Carrefour SA said it is launching a $1.9 billion (U.S. dollars) investment program to renovate its hypermarkets in five of its largest European markets to boost sales and profits.

The world's second-largest retailer after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Thursday it will convert or remodel 500 stores in France, Spain, Italy, Belgium and Greece by early 2013, making them "more spacious and user-friendly."

 The retailer said that the plan, which also aims at cutting costs and improving efficiencies, will help grow sales to U.S. $137 billion by 2013 and U.S. $157 billion by 2015, up from U.S. $103 billion last year.