COLR Colruyt Group NV

French retail giant Carrefour SA (CA.FR) Thursday finalized its top management structure with the appointment of Vicente Trius, a Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) executive, as head of its European operations outside of France.

The appointment of Trius, a Spanish national who has headed Wal-Mart's Latin American operations since last year, fills the last remaining position on Carrefour Chief Executive Lars Olofsson's six-member executive board.

In just over a year since becoming CEO at the world's second-largest retailer after U.S.-based Wal-Mart, Olofsson has restructured the French retailer's top management as part of a broad overhaul of the group.

Carrefour is seeking to rejuvenate business in its home market of France and elsewhere in Europe by revamping supermarkets, increasing its offering of company-label products and emphasizing smaller, urban stores. Executives are still working out plans to revive the retailer's aging hypermarkets, the large stores that sell everything from groceries to electronic goods under one roof.

Olofsson's executive board includes recent recruits James McCann, a U.K. national from Tesco PLC (TSCO.LN) who heads the French operations, and Jose Carlos Gonzalez-Hurtado, a Spanish national and former Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) executive, as the group's chief commercial officer.

Carrefour's previous European director, Guy Yraeta, left the company in November last year. Directors of Carrefour's European country operations have reported directly to Olofsson in the interim.

Carrefour last month said it would restructure operations in Belgium, shutting stores and freezing salaries after losing market share to local rivals Delhaize Group (DEG) and Colruyt N.V. (COLR.BT).

Trius will take up his position on May 3, and will manage the company's business in Belgium, Spain, Italy, Poland, Greece, Cyprus and Romania, Carrefour said in a statement.

Carrefour shares closed at EUR35.67 Thursday.

-By Mimosa Spencer, Dow Jones Newswires; +33 1 40 17 17 73; mimosa.spencer@dowjones.com

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