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Tag: carrefour

  • Carrefour Returns to India with 50,000-Square-Foot Greater Noida Flagship

    Carrefour Returns to India with 50,000-Square-Foot Greater Noida Flagship

    French grocer Carrefour opened a 50,000-square-foot flagship store in Greater Noida West, returning to the Indian market a decade after shutting down its initial operations.

    The outlet at Boulevard Walk mall stocks more than 15,000 products across fresh food, groceries and household essentials under a franchise pact with Dubai-based Apparel Group.

    Apparel Group, which manages more than 300 fashion and lifestyle stores across 50 Indian cities, will run the local stores and supply chain. The partnership combines Carrefour’s private labels and imported lines with locally sourced goods to build an omnichannel grocery network across North India.

    A Second Run at Multi-Brand Grocery

    Carrefour first set foot in India in 2010 under the government’s cash-and-carry wholesale regulations. It closed its five wholesale depots and left in 2014 after failing to secure a domestic partner to navigate foreign investment limits in multi-brand retail.

    Foreign supermarket chains have long found India difficult to penetrate because of strict ownership caps and entrenched local distributors. While Walmart shifted entirely to wholesale and e-commerce through Flipkart, Carrefour is using a regional master franchisee to shoulder real estate commitments and store-level operations.

    Scaling North India Distribution

    Apparel Group owner APPCORP Holding, led by chairman Nilesh Ved, is using the Greater Noida site as a launchpad to expand Carrefour into additional northern urban clusters.

    The joint venture will now establish dedicated supply chain hubs to support planned store openings across Uttar Pradesh and the National Capital Region.

  • Carrefour’s Flash 10/10 c-store deploys avatars and AI to speed purchases

    Carrefour’s Flash 10/10 c-store deploys avatars and AI to speed purchases

    Carrefour open Flash 10/10, its next-generation test store, on 24 November in Paris’ eleventh arrondissement. This new convenience store – developed in collaboration and exclusively with Californian start-up AiFi – uses technology that has never been seen before and is designed to provide customers the most accessible and fastest shopping experience ever.

    Carrefour Flash 10/10: 900 products available in a flash

    Carrefour Flash is the first store of this kind in France, and will be located at 11 avenue Parmentier, in the capital’s eleventh arrondissement. With Flash, technology is used to enhance the customer experience, making shopping more straightforward. It has nearly 900 everyday product references on sale.

    With this innovative new format, Flash 10/10 (“10 seconds to shop and 10 seconds to pay”) features a shopping journey that does not involve having to scan any products and payment that is almost instantaneous. Customers don’t even have to take their items out of their bag. This saves time for customers and creates a smoother experience. Customers are free to enter and exit the store without having to pass through a gateway. There is no need to download an app or register beforehand. And there are no surprises – they can view their total spending in real-time.

    Four employees will be on-hand to open the store and oversee its operation. They will maintain it and keep it tidy, manage its new e-commerce services (including Pedestrian click and collect), and provide customers with advice.

    This whole customer experience will be made possible by 60 HD cameras, nearly 2000 sensors built into the connected shelves, an algorithm for interpreting all the data, and a proprietary tablet payment system. Customers are tracked anonymously as a virtual avatar, allocated to them as soon as they enter the store. The products that they pick up are automatically detected and then added to their virtual basket. Once they have finished shopping, customers just get their baskets validated at a kiosk and then pay contactless. They can get an electronic receipt sent to them immediately simply

    by scanning a QR code. An automatic checkout kiosk is also available for any customers wishing to pay with cash.

    Carrefour Flash was tested at Carrefour’s head office in Massy over more than a year, during which the Innovation team was able to refine the technology and adapt the concept based on feedback from the employees using it on a daily basis.

    In March 2021, Carrefour Brazil launched Flash Scan & Go – a store where customers can use their smartphones to shop and pay for the products they want to take home. 6 such stores are currently in operation in Brazil, and the subsidiary is planning on opening another 8 or so before the end of the year.

    And in September, Carrefour launched its “Carrefour City+” concept in Dubai alongside Emirati partner Majid Al Futtaim.

    “The Flash concept checks our customers’ expectations. They want to be able enter the store easily, know what they are buying, pay quickly and then leave. Compared with other existing concepts, with Carrefour Flash, customers get speed and accessibility in a unique way”, said Elodie Perthuisot, the Carrefour Group’s Executive Director of E-Commerce, Data and Digital Transformation.

    “Following our initial testing in Massy, we are proud and delighted to be launching this store with Carrefour. Flash is definitely one of the stores with the most advanced technology in the world”, said Ying Zheng, Co-founder and President of AiFi.

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  • Digital and data central as French retailer Carrefour speeds up turnaround

    Digital and data central as French retailer Carrefour speeds up turnaround

    French supermarket group Carrefour on Tuesday, € 3 billion (3.47 million) between 2022 and 2026 to strengthen digital commerce expansion and increase profits in line with Boss Alexandre Bomper’s future strategic plans. I promised to spend $ 10,000).

    E-commerce is the main driver of online push, as Europe’s largest food retailers aim to stay ahead of Amazon in grocery delivery and speed up ongoing turnarounds. -Boosted by Express Delivery and Innovative Services-Lamp-Upsizing Data and Retail Media, and Digitizing Financial Services.

    “Digital will be at the heart of our next strategic plan by 2026. This is a great opportunity for Carrefour,” Bompard Chairman and CEO told investors on Group’s Digital Day.

    By 1442 GMT, Carrefour shares were up 2.2% at € 15.70. However, when Bompard acquired it in July 2017, its shares were 30% below that level. He secured another three-year term in May.

    Carrefour has spent € 2 billion on technology and digital expansion in the first stages of its turnaround plan since 2018, trebling food e-commerce activity in the process.

    As a result of the new digital push, Carrefour has raised its total annual investment target to around € 1.7 billion. This is the € 1.5-1.7 billion cap given in early 2021.

    “Now that the first successful transformation plan is nearing its end, we’re bringing Carrefour, a traditional e-commerce retailer, a digital retailer that puts digital and data at the heart of all its operations and value creation. I want to transform into a model. “

    “Today, it’s very difficult for them to enter the food market, especially fresh food, and we have to find a model that they can’t replicate,” Bompard commented on the competition with Amazon.

    Carrefour said the additional investment could triple the total value of e-commerce products (the total value of products sold) from 2026 to € 10 billion.

    Digital forecasts an additional € 600 million in recurring operating profit in 2026 compared to 2021. “This will be minimal,” added Matthieu Malige, Chief Financial Officer.

    Carrefour, in the later stages of its five-year turnaround plan, which began in January 2018, has two planned partnerships. This year did not fail-one in Canada One with Couche-Tard and Auchan from France.

    Past digital initiatives ranged from strategic partnerships with Google to rapid grocery delivery service transactions with Uber Technologies.

    Carrefour announced on Tuesday that it would set up a dedicated venture capital fund to allow it to acquire minority shares in companies involved in innovation and emerging technologies.

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  • Uber, Carrefour Expand Partnership To Speed Up Deliveries In Paris

    Uber, Carrefour Expand Partnership To Speed Up Deliveries In Paris

    U.S.-based ride-hailing app owner Uber Technologies and Europe’s largest retailer Carrefour are to launch a new rapid grocery delivery service in Paris, extending their 18-month partnership, the two companies said on Tuesday.

    Carrefour Sprint will offer a 15-minute grocery delivery service to Parisians exclusively via the Uber Eats mobile app from nine “dark stores” – shops closed to customers where workers prepare orders for delivery – operated by Carrefour’s partner Cajoo.

    Earlier this year, the French retailer agreed to take a minority stake in the newly founded start-up Cajoo, which operates “dark stores” across the country.

    Established retailers and food deliverers face intense competition from a crop of newer, well-funded start-ups running networks of “dark stores” that can dispatch groceries ordered on a smartphone app to the doorstep within minutes.

    “Over the past 18 months people have increasingly come to expect quick and reliable delivery … in Europe alone we’ve seen a triple-digit increase in demand for grocery delivery,” Eve Henrikson, Regional General Manager, Uber Delivery EMEA, said in a statement.

    Uber and Carrefour are already offering 30-minute deliveries in France from Carrefour’s almost 2,000 shops available on Uber’s app under a deal agreed last year.

    Both companies have also separately struck deals to speed up delivery with other market players like Britain’s Deliveroo and France’s supermarket chain Casino.

    Uber and Carrefour plan to expand the 15-minute service to other major French cities such as Lyon, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Lille and Montpellier in coming weeks, they said.

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  • Couche-Tard drops $20bn Carrefour takeover plan

    Couche-Tard drops $20bn Carrefour takeover plan

    Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard has dropped its €16.2bn ($19.6bn) bid to acquire European retailer Carrefour SA after the takeover plan ran into stiff opposition from the French government, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.

    The decision to end merger talks came after a meeting on Friday between French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and Couche-Tard’s founder and chairman, Alain Bouchard, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the matter is confidential.

    Couche-Tard and Carrefour declined to comment.

    Earlier on Friday, France ruled out any sale of grocer Carrefour on food security grounds, prompting the Canadian firm and its allies to mount a last-ditch attempt to salvage the deal.

    “Food security is strategic for our country so that’s why we don’t sell a big French retailer. My answer is extremely clear: We are not in favour of the deal. The no is polite but it’s a clear and final no,” Le Maire said.

    Couche-Tard was hoping to win the government’s blessing by offering commitments on both jobs and France’s food supply chain and by keeping the merged entity listed in both Paris and Toronto, with Carrefour boss Alexandre Bompard and his Couche-Tard counterpart Brian Hannasch leading it as co-CEOs, one of the sources said.

    The plan included a pledge to keep the new entity’s global strategic operations in France and having French nationals on its board, he said.

    Couche-Tard, advised by Rothschild, was also going to pump about €3bn of investments into the French retailer which was working on the deal with Lazard.

    The proposal was widely backed by Carrefour which employs 105,000 workers in France, its largest market, making it the country’s biggest private-sector employer.

    France’s rejection of the deal less than 24 hours after talks were confirmed sparked grumbling in some business circles over how French President Emmanuel Macron, a former investment banker, is turning away foreign investment. Some politicians and bankers said the pushback could tarnish Macron’s pro-business image, while others highlighted that the COVID-19 crisis had forced more than one country to redefine its strategic national interests.

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  • Carrefour starts rebranding Wellcome stores in Taiwan

    Carrefour starts rebranding Wellcome stores in Taiwan

    Carrefour SA said Tuesday they have agreed to buy Wellcome Taiwan from Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd. to accelerate its expansion.

    The deal includes 224 proximity stores as well as a warehouse and its overall enterprise value is EUR97 million (US$107.9 million), the supermarket group said.

    The company expects the transaction to close by the end of the year and its plans for the stores include cost-structure optimization and rebranding.

    Wellcome Taiwan had net sales of around EUR390 million in 2019, according to Carrefour.

    The French company said it currently owns 137 stores in Taiwan, where it generated net sales of EUR1.97 billion, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of EUR209 million and recurring operating income of EUR83 million in 2019.

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  • Carrefour launches new pet-store concept

    Carrefour launches new pet-store concept

    French supermarket chain Carrefour has launched a new pet store concept in Paris, in collaboration with Invivo Retail’s pet care brand Noa.

    The new 190sqm shop-in-shop opens at the Saint-Brice-sous-Foret hypermarket to the north of the city, featuring a broad selection of pet care products (including specialist brands) sold by expert vendor-advisers responding to an increasing trend in owner investment in pet health and wellbeing coupled with rising demand for personal advice and support from experts.

    Visitors to the store can elect to have their pet’s wellbeing checked in the “paravet” area as they shop.

    “The Noa concept is in line with Carrefour’s desire to provide new in-store shopping experiences through special offerings and bespoke advice for dogs and cats,” said Carrefour Hypermarkets in France executive director Marie Cheval. “It’s a unique retail initiative.”

    “This project is in line with our plan to transform, accelerate and give impetus to our new Noa pet care brand as part of an original shop-in-shop concept,” said Invivo Retail CEO Guillaume Darrasse, “enhancing the customer experience and more specifically serving animal lovers”.

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  • Carrefour China set to open 100 more restaurants

    Carrefour China set to open 100 more restaurants

    Supermarket operator Carrefour China plans to open 100 restaurants at its existing stores.

    The first outlet of Carrefour restaurant chain Mr Fu has opened at its Gubei branch in Shanghai, followed by a second in Chongqing.

    “With more than 2000 products in a self-run goods pool, Mr Fu will introduce at least 30 new products each month,” said Li Yijiang, head of catering business division at Suning Carrefour China.

    The renovation work will be launched at selected Carrefour branches and will not be outsourced to a third party.

    “We will have more independence to promote food and drinks according to different festive occasions and promotional activities, and we also offer customized decoration styles at consumers’ requests,” Li told the Shanghai Daily.

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  • Dairy Farm sells Wellcome Taiwan to Carrefour

    Dairy Farm sells Wellcome Taiwan to Carrefour

    Hong Kong-headquartered Dairy Farm is to sell its Wellcome Taiwan grocery retail business to Carrefour, with settlement later this year after regulatory approvals have been granted.  The deal – worth about €97 million – includes about 224 stores and warehouses, along with some property assets. Wellcome Taiwan’s turnover last year was approximately €390 million.

    The business currently has 199 Wellcome stores with an average sales area of 420sqm – and 25 Jasons, with an average sales area of 820 sqm. The Dairy Farm stores trading under the Wellcome banner will be converted to its Market format, and those trading under Jason’s brand will be converted to the Carrefour format.

    “Dairy Farm believes this change of ownership will set the business up for future growth and prosperity, building on Wellcome’s strong sales momentum over the past 12 months following the successful implementation of its price reinvestment campaign and increasing customer loyalty,” the Hong Kong company said in a statement.

    “This strengthened network represents greater opportunities for our team members as well as better service and value to our customers.”

    A spokesperson for Dairy Farm told Inside Retail Asia that the company was committed to its remaining major investment in Taiwan, Ikea.

    “Ikea Taiwan remains very much part of Dairy Farm’s portfolio. Through the Ikea brand, Dairy Farm is committed to delivering a unique home furnishing and Swedish food experience to our customers in Taiwan.”

    Meanwhile, the MD of Wellcome Taiwan, Laurent Piazza, says the sale is a testament to the hard work and determination of the Dairy Farm team to offer the best to its customers.

    “By bringing these businesses together, team members and customers will benefit from being served by a larger group that can use their combined strength and scale to improve quality, service, and price competition.

    “We have complete confidence in the future success of the business and believe, by bringing these businesses together, we have created a strong future for the team and a better shopping experience for our customers.”

    Carrefour currently operates 137 stores in Taiwan, including 69 under its Market banner. The group posted net sales of €1.968 billion last year and posted pre-tax earnings of €209 million.

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  • Carrefour China achieves its first quarterly profit in seven years

    Carrefour China achieves its first quarterly profit in seven years

    Carrefour China has achieved its first quarterly profit in seven years according to the Tian Rui, CEO of Suning Group, which bought the former French hypermarket group last September.

    During the past five months, the Carrefour China business has improved its operating efficiency through the digital transformation of its stores and the accelerated integration with the Suning ecosystem.

    Tian Rui says post-acquisition, Carrefour China’s management team focused on consumer needs and strengthening marketing, operations and membership management. The business was integrated into the Suning FMCG’s supply chain, strengthening the range and supply of merchandise.

    And the company’s stores and product offering were integrated into the Suning Convenience Store app on February 6. Since then, the average daily order volume of Carrefour Flash Delivery has increased by 202 per cent month on month. On February 21, the average daily order volume was up 329 percent month on month.

    This digital transformation has seen the 209-strong store network deliver goods to customers living within 3km of a store within one hour, and for those within 10km of a store within half a day.

    “Carrefour China is the core business of Suning FMCG matrix. In 2020, we will accelerate store upgrades, supply chain construction, and other ecological integration with Suning to recreate the glory of Carrefour like seven years ago,” said Tian Rui.

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  • Carrefour Easy store opens inside Suning branch

    Carrefour Easy store opens inside Suning branch

    Convenience-store Carrefour Easy has opened inside Chinese retailer Suning.com’s Shanghai Zhongshan store, marking the latest step towards integrating the two retail businesses.

    With sales areas ranging from 100sqm to 250sqm, Carrefour Easy has been building a network of standalone convenience stores in China since 2015.

    The launch inside a Suning store marks the latest development for the business since Suning acquired an 80-per-cent equity stake in Carrefour China last September for US$689.2 million, part of a move by Suning to accelerate the expansion of its brick-and-mortar portfolio into a full-scenario retail model.

    “This is a key step to Suning’s Smart Retail Plan,” said Suning.com chairman Jindong Zhang at the time of the acquisition. “FMCG experience and supply chain capabilities can be integrated with Suning’s full-scenario retail model, solid logistics network and advanced technology. With our smart retail capabilities, Suning can transform Carrefour stores into fully integrated online-and-offline supermarkets to meet evolving consumer demands.”

    Suning then announced five long-term strategies of Carrefour China, including digitalising Carrefour’s physical stores, improving current store models, expanding to lower-tier cities with Suning’s Retail Cloud Franchise Store, integrating with Suning’s convenience store, and opening new stores in the existing market.

    Suning’s home appliances stores opened in more than 200 Carrefour stores the day after the purchase. In early November, Suning Finance integrated Carrefour’s finance system so customers in Carrefour stores could pay with their Suning Finance account.

    In mid-November, Carrefour participated in the single’s day event (Nov 11) for the first time, with all of Suning’s business segments. Additionally, some Carrefour stores in Nanjing and Shanghai built quick-picking warehouses, storing approximately 3000 SKUs, with customers placing their orders online through Suning’s Convenience Store app, Carrefour Mini WeChat program and third-party platforms.

    At China International Import Expo, as a purchaser and exhibitor, Carrefour signed 150 million-RMB purchase contracts. At the end of November, the Italian Trade Agency visited Carrefour China and negotiated the import of Italian products through Carrefour’s supply chain.

    On Black Friday, Carrefour’s online flagship store opened on Suning.com, focused on selling high value imports with delivery services channeled through Suning Logistics.

    In the future, Suning.com will pursue more offline integration with Carrefour China. Other than home appliance stores, Carrefour stores will also incorporate other Suning business models, including in the mother-infant category, sports retailing and movie theatres.

  • Carrefour acquires lunch delivery service Dejbox

    Carrefour acquires lunch delivery service Dejbox

    Supermarket giant Carrefour Group has acquired lunch delivery service, Dejbox, expanding its online grocery service to ready-to-eat meals and the B2E market.

    “This acquisition, which reflects Carrefour’s desire to become the leader in grocery e-commerce, is a strategic one,” Amelie Oudea-Castera, executive director customers, services and digital transformation at Carrefour, said. “It will give us the opportunity to expand our customer base to include employees of medium-sized, small and micro businesses and also invest in the fast-growing food delivery segment with an offering rooted in quality and affordability.”

    Dejbox was found by Adrien Verhack and Vincent Dupied in 2015 to provide food in an online canteen for employees. It offers lunch including fresh, cooked and seasonal dishes for €5.90 to €8.90 and it delivers the food to their workplace at no charge.

    Dejbox is an online and mobile app with menu offerings to cater to French employees working in the urban hinterland and doesn’t have much access to onsite dining service. It is operating in Lille, Lyon, Paris, Bordeaux, Nantes and Grenoble – delivering over 400,000 meals each month.

    Carrefour said the acquisition will allow Dejbox to expand its French operations faster into international markets and grow quickly into B2B services.

    “We made the strategic decision to join with Carrefour because we firmly believe it’s the best possible partner for helping us achieve our ambitious growth plans for Dejbox and for offering as many people as possible an online, affordable, sustainable and tasty alternative to a sandwich or a home-cooked meal,” Verhack and Dupied said.

  • Carrefour Taiwan launches Asia’s first private-label cage-free eggs

    Carrefour Taiwan launches Asia’s first private-label cage-free eggs

    Carrefour Taiwan has launched its first line of private label cage-free eggs, responding to growing consumer demands for sustainable products.

    The range, originating from an Asian retailer at its Neihu Store in Taipei’s north, marks another step in the brand’s local Act For Food initiative, which is intended to project Carrefour as a leader in food transition.

    As part of the launch, one Taiwanese dollar from every box sold will be donated to promote the welfare of farm animals, with proceeds going to the Environment & Animal Society of Taiwan.

    “When I saw firsthand the rich and active lives of hens on cage-free farms,” said Carrefour Taiwan director of CSR and communications Marilyn Su, “it was clear to me the role retailers must play in the food transition.

    “As a large international retailer, Carrefour is constantly thinking about how it can exercise corporate social responsibility to make Taiwan a better, more beautiful place because of our presence.”

    Carrefour Taiwan announced its four-step commitment to going cage-free in May last year. The chain currently stocks 24 cage-free egg SKUs in Taiwan, and the market share has already risen to 17 percent.

    Last month the firm conducted a survey of almost 1000 consumers, with results showing that nearly 80 percent of Taiwanese consumers care about the production system of the eggs they buy, and almost nine in 10 are concerned about antibiotics use, antibiotic residues, and unhygienic rearing environments.

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  • Suning.com to open 200 stores inside Carrefour China hypermarkets

    Suning.com to open 200 stores inside Carrefour China hypermarkets

    Suning.com plans to open more than 200 stores inside Carrefour China hypermarkets later this month.

    The store rollout follows Suning.com’s acquisition of an 80-per-cent controlling interest in the Carrefour China business last June, a deal approved by Chinese regulatory authorities last month.

    Analysts say the store openings represent a strategic push by Suning.com to ramp up the loss-making Carrefour business by giving consumers more reason to visit the store – and hoping they will shop at Carrefour while they are there.

    The move comes just five months after Carrefour China revealed plans to partner with Chinese retail group Gome opening 200 stores-in-stores by July. That deal is now over and the stores that had opened under the Gome banner are being converted to Suning.com.

    The new shops will sell smartphones and consumer appliances. A spokesman for Suning.com told Chinese media that the stores will be tailored to local communities.

    Carrefour China has 210 hypermarkets and 24 convenience stores across the mainland.

  • Carrefour China business Sold

    Carrefour China business Sold

    Suning is to buy an 80 percent controlling stake in Carrefour China for €620 million (RMB 4.8 billion).

    The first Carrefour China supermarket was opened in 1995 when the French company was one of the first foreign retailers to enter the market. Currently, it operates 234 outlets – 210 large-format hypermarkets and 24 convenience stores. Net sales for its last full year were €3.6 billion (RMB 28.5 billion) and pre-tax profit €66 million (RMB 516 million).

    Just last month, Carrefour executives denied the business was for sale, but financial media have been reporting what turned out to be markedly accurate reports of negotiations this year.

    Suning’s purchase follows the acquisition of 37 Wanda department stores earlier this year, which will be converted to Suning.com branding.

    The company says it will use its smart-retail expertise to digitalize Carrefour China’s existing store network to create a “leading innovative supermarket shopping experience”.

    “In the future, we expect to open up the access for Suning’s various business models, such as household-electronics sales, Redbaby, JIWU, Suning Financial Services, SuFresh and Suning Xiaodian’s immediate delivery, [and] to get into Carrefour China’s stores located in the central business and living areas of Chinese first- and second-tier cities,” said Tian Rui, VP of Suning.com.

    “It will help us better meet more consumers’ needs due to strengthened core capabilities achieved by store innovation. With 400 million registered customers of the company’s retailing segment, Suning.com’s users-ecosystem will complement Carrefour China’s membership system, fully improving the customer value.”

    He said that by connecting the more than 6000 Suning Xiaodian stores with Carrefour China’s outlets, Suning’s ‘last-kilometre home-delivery service will be able to serve more consumers with lower cost but higher efficiency.

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