The Système U group refuses to “bear full responsibility” for the end of the collaboration with Saint Mamet

Thierry Desouches, directeur des Relations extérieures de Système U. – Pauline Kupper

Thierry Desouches, director of external relations at Système U, believes that Saint Mamet had been warned well in advance.

You stop selling Saint Mamet products on your shelves at the end of February. Why end an old collaboration ?

In fact, we had been working with them for a long time. But when Agromarché, a subsidiary of Intermarché, bought Saint Mamet, we decided to stop this collaboration, which is a way of supporting" financially Intermarché… They could have expected such a decision. A few years ago, we stopped selling products from the Capitaine Cook brand, which had been bought by Agromarché. 

And you understand the emotion aroused in particular by Conserve Gard, which reported the concern of farmers?

Yes, but this decision was taken in February 2023. We notified Saint Mamet on that date, which did not notify its suppliers in advance. It's his responsibility.

What about the arborists who supply Saint-Mamet and the Vauvert Solarys factory ?

We are now working with Rochefontaine. We contacted them to see how there could be a possibility of creating a link between producers and suppliers.

Conserve Gard fears that Rochefontaine is essentially doing import-export… 

They can also work with French farmers. Contact was made with Mr. Gaquière (president of Conserve Gard) in this regard. But once again, when Agromousquetaires took over Saint-Mamet, they suspected that the collaboration would not last. There they lost twelve months. It's up to them, too, to work with Conserve Gard. We must not blame the entirety of the end of this collaboration on us.