Although French consumers welcomed the hypermarket concept, smaller stores lobbied

against the spread of hypermarket stores in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and in 1973, the
French legislature passed the Royer Law, which restricted the introduction of more
hypermarkets. Carrefour had no choice but to expand internationally.
Firs movements: (neighbouring countries)
-

1969
1970
1972
1973

Belgium
Switzerland
Italy and Britain
Spain

Withdrew soon from Belgium and Britain, focusing on southern European and Latin American
countries (THE REASON WAS THAT THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM WAN NOT YET MODERNIZED)
Carrefour internationalization strategy was accelerated in 80s and 90s
Adaptability
Carrefours international strategy is based on the hypermarket format with local adaptability.
For
example, while the store format is the same anywhere around the world, the company sells
hot
meals to French customers in France and pasta in Argentina and Italy, and has sushi bars in
most
Asian countries.
Internationalization strategy of Carrefour is based in 2 axis:
A simple and clear idea. People in major cities prefer to do all their shopping under one roof.
Carrefours logic is based on the belief that choice, self-service, free parking, and low prices
have universal appeal. Although these principles might seem simple, the introduction of free
parking in South Korea and Singapore was considered revolutionary, given the high cost of
land in these countries.
Evolving ideas. Each hypermarket around the world is expected to keep reinventing itself to
meet the demands of local customers. For instance, the company has introduced organic
food
in France, optical shops and tyre fi tting in Taiwan, and petrol stations in Argentina.