Don’t mourn DFI’s sale of Cold Storage, Giant; its modernisation journey could pay off soon
While the group has a seemingly formidable portfolio of retailing brands, its shares have delivered a negative total return of 65.8% over the past 10 years
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[SINGAPORE] Some investors might have been perplexed when DFI Retail Group said earlier this week that it had agreed to sell its Cold Storage and Giant stores in Singapore for S$125 million.
For one thing, DFI has been associated with these well-known brands for several years. More to the point, the announcement came only a fortnight after the company reported headline financial numbers for 2024 that seemed to indicate the whole group – including its Singapore food business – is turning around.
Upon closer examination, however, the deal seems to dovetail with DFI’s broad strategy of pruning its business portfolio, investing in technology and harnessing data to drive profitability.
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