The "great escape" from Epic Partners continues. After the French Super U and the Swedish Ica, the Italian Esselunga is ending its partnership with the European purchasing center. The initiative to terminate the contract, in fact, was started by Epic Partners. Although the reasons have not been made public, the French-speaking media have spread rumors about a possible "lack of collaboration".

The breakup would also have been affected by the relatively poor diffusion of Esselunga, with only 150 points of sale. After only two and a half years, therefore, the union with a brand that, despite having recently lost several partners, remains a pillar for the entire sector at a European level, ends.

By excluding Super U, Ica and Esselunga, the Geneva purchasing center would have lost around 50 billion euros in turnover in just one year. At the moment, Epic's corporate aggregate is made up of the following brands, with their respective turnovers: Edeka (70.7 billion in turnover in 2023), Jeronimo Martins (33.5 billion consolidated in 2024), together with the subsidiaries Biedronka and Ara (Colombia), Picnic (1.2 billion), Migros (around 34.2 billion euros), Jumbo (11 billion euros). For a total of 140 billion in aggregate annual sales.

Initially, Epic Partners, launched in 2021 by the German brand Edeka, was created to negotiate international purchases. In addition to Edeka, its ranks include names such as Biedronka (Poland), Pingo Doce & Recheio (Portugal) and the Migros Group (Switzerland). Last September, Epic welcomed Aura Retail, the French alliance between Intermarché and Auchan.