Carrefour/Russia: nyet Rossia

Two stores and you’re out. The decision by Carrefour to pull out of Russia comes as a surprise. The French retailer opened its first store in Moscow barely four months ago. It was followed in September by another one in Krasnodar. And the company kept hinting about grand projects in the country. Now it will leave. Lars Olofsson, the company’s new chief executive, may have wanted to throw a small bone to some activist shareholders. Colony Capital, the US real estate fund manager, and Bernard Arn...