Taipei: Carrefour Taiwan's outlets will be rebranded under new ownership on Wednesday, marking the French retailer's formal exit from Taiwan's market, the chain's new parent company announced Tuesday.

According to Focus Taiwan, Uni-President Enterprises Corp. revealed that Carrefour hypermarkets will be renamed Prosperity Plaza, while Carrefour supermarkets will operate under the name Uni-Prosperity. The company noted that under the terms of its licensing agreement and relevant regulations, it was only permitted to use the Carrefour brand through Tuesday.

Uni-President Group acquired full ownership of Carrefour Taiwan in 2022 after purchasing the 60 percent stake held by French retailer Carrefour. Plans to retire the Carrefour brand were announced late last year.

Industry analysts noted that the name change signals continued consolidation in Taiwan's hypermarket sector. After the rebranding, Costco will be the only foreign-owned hypermarket operator remaining in Taiwan. The market is predominantly led by domestic retailers, including Prosperity Plaza, PX Mart, and A.mart.

Despite the consolidation, Taiwan's hypermarket sector is contracting, with Carrefour closing four hypermarkets last year. Mega PX Mart's Zhonglun store in Taipei, operated by the Ruentex Group, is set to close after September 13 due to long-term losses, and A.mart closed its Zhongxiao store in Taipei last September.

Uni-President Enterprises Corp. Chairman Lo Chih-hsien attributed the sector's decline to demographic shifts, including the increase in single-person households, reducing demand for large-format stores. In contrast, Costco continues to expand, with plans to relocate its nearly 30-year-old Kaohsiung store to a larger site in the city's Cianjhen District on July 3, which will become Costco's largest store in Taiwan.