WHATS CARREFOUR

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Carrefour is a French multinational

retailer

Headquartered in Boulogne Billancourt,

France, in the Hauts-de-Seine Department
near Paris.
One of the largest hypermarket chains in the
world (with 1,452 hypermarkets at the end of
2011)
4th largest retail group in the world in terms
of revenue (after Wal-Mart, Tesco and
Costco)
3rd largest retail group in the world in terms
of profit (after Wal-Mart and Tesco)
22nd company in FORTUNE 500

SOMETHING MORE

Carrefour works primarily in Europe,

Argentina, Bahrain, Brazil, China, Dominican
Republic, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Qatar,
Lebanon, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia,
additionally has shops in North Africa and
different parts of Asia, with most stores being
of littler size than hypermarket or even
general store.
Carrefour signifies "intersection" and "open
square" in French. Already the organization
head office was in Levallois-Perret,
additionally in the Paris rural areas.

HISTORY
BIRTH PLACE - in suburban Annecy near a
crossroads (carrefour in French)

BIRTH DATE -1 January 1958

1st HYPERMARKET -3 June 1959

Opened their first hypermarket on 15 June 1963

in Sainte-Genevive-des-Bois, near Paris in France
In April 1976, Carrefour launched a Private Label Products

French slogans

19882003 : With Carrefour, I'm positive (Avec Carrefour,

je positive)

Since 2015 : I optimizme (J'optimisme)

International slogans

Hypermarkets: "Choice and quality for everyone"

Hypermarkets: "Est bueno para vos" and "Los precios

ms bajos siempre" (Argentina)

Hypermarkets: "Ningum faz melhor que o primeiro"

(Brazil)

^^World Distribution^^

GLOBAL STRATEGY
Within France, the group faces an extremely competitive
pricing environment. Its hypermarket sales have been
declining for a while because of the increasingly popular
discount stores. Carrefour's hypermarket comparable
turnover (including petrol) for the third quarter dropped
8%, with non-food comparable turnover falling 9.5% .
Perhaps the one way its investors will be truly satisfied
is if its French hypermarket division performs better,
since it contributes approximately a quarter of
Carrefour's global sales

International development of Carrefour

Yea Country and mode of
r
entry
196
9
197
3
197
5
198
2
198
9
199
1
199

Belgium
Carrefours frst
hypermarket
Spain
BrazilCarrefours frst
hypermarket in the
Americas
Argentina

No. of
stores(2
009)
120

Formats

2,241

162(HM), 96(SM),
1,972(HD),
11(CS)
162(HM), 39(SM),

476

57(HM), 63(SM)

267(HD), 8(CS)
518

Taiwan
Carrefours frst
hypermarket
in
Greece

59
544

67(HM), 112(SM),
339(HD)
HM
31(HM), 209 (SM), 271
(HD),
33(CS)
66(HM),
236(SM),

Italy

494

3
199
3
199

Turkey

578

4
199
5
199

China

6
199
7
199

Poland
Singapore

HM

7
199
8
199

Colombia

59

HM

Indonesia

43

HM

8
200
0

Japan

Malaysia
Thailand

Note:
HM = hypermarkets
SM = supermarkets
HD = hard discount stores
CS = convenience stores
C&C = cash and carry stores

16

178(CS),
14(C&C)
22(HM), 125(SM),
431(HD)
HM

443

134(HM), 309(HD)

31
303

HM
78 (HM), 225(SM)

Was UAE a favorable country to

enter?
UAE presented many advantages for
companies considering market entry into
Dubai in 1995.
Despite a small population relative to other
markets it served, UAE offered an unusual
composition of Expatriates and local
residents in an economy with one of the
highest standards of living and income in the
world.

The market was extremely business friendly

with many advantages like zero corporate
taxes in conjunction with very few barriers to
trade. It had superior transportation
networks, a well-defned legal system,
positive retail conditions, strong economic
growth and low political, and transfer risks.

Marketing Strategy

Place:
Carrefour/Majid al Futtaims strategy was to adapt to
the cultural importance of shopping malls and create a
city within a city by being located inside a mall with
entertainment centers, cinemas, food courts and other
convenience amenities. Hence, Carrefour decided to
place its stores in big malls in Deira City Centre Mall,
Mall of the Emirates, Al Mamzar Century Mall and Bur
Dubai - Al Shindagha. Indeed this adaptation differed
from Carrefours standard location of a freestanding
warehouse-like building.

Product:
Dubai was a very international and diverse Emirate,
particularly due to the large number of foreign workers.
As such, Carrefour adapted by accepting foreign credit
cards, the currencies of all GCC countries and

international currencies like the Euro and US dollar.

While Carrefour implemented bilingual signage in the
stores, language and cultural barriers were not likely
problems given that English was so widely spoken and
consumers had experience with Western products.

Promotion:
Carrefour did not adapt its promotional effort, which
consisted of discounting certain items. Majid Al Futtaim
handled local promotions, and coordinated some of
these regionally with its stores throughout the Middle
East. Promotions were placed in print media and instore, to attract mall-walking traffic. Because Dubai was
a society emphasizing the importance of social
relationship, Carrefour could reasonably expect that
consumers might discuss some of the deals.

Price :

Carrefours price position was as a discounter, and used

pricing as part of its promotional effort. Because of its
strong brand name, Carrefour did not have to worry
about brand dilution due to its discounted products.
However, discounting was problematic in Dubai where
inflation was sky high, and when fluctuations in inflation
could erode profts. Another pricing concern was the
food retail market was most competitive and thus proft
margins were thin. Carrefour could sell non-foods,
household goods and toiletries at higher margins.