Sourced from the Wikipedia page 'Carrefour'...because I live dangerously...
Carrefour S.A. is an international hypermarket chain headquartered in Levallois-Perret, France. It is one of the largest hypermarket chains in the world (1395 hypermarkets at the end of 2009, the second largest retail group in the world in terms of revenue and third largest in profit after Wal-Mart and Tesco). Carrefour operates mainly in Europe, Argentina, Brazil, China, Taiwan, Colombia and in the Dominican Republic, but also has shops in North Africa and other parts of Asia, with most stores being of smaller size than hypermarket or even supermarket. Carrefour means "crossroads" in French.
History
The first Carrefour store opened on June 3, 1959, in suburban Annecy near a crossroads (carrefour in French). The group was created by Marcel Fournier, Denis Defforey and Jacques Defforey and grew into a chain from this first sales outlet. In 1999 it merged with Promodès, known as Continent, one of its major competitors in the French market.
Marcel Fournier, Denis Defforey and Jacques Defforey had attended several seminars in the United States led by "The Pope of modern distribution" Bernardo Trujillo, who influenced other famous French executives like Édouard Leclerc (E.Leclerc), Gérard Mulliez (Auchan), Paul Dubrule (Accor), and Gérard Pélisson (Accor). Their slogan was "No parking, no business."
The Carrefour group was the first in Europe to open a hypermarket, a large supermarket and a department store under the same roof. They opened their first hypermarket June 15, 1963 in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, near Paris in France.
In April 1976, Carrefour launched a private label Produits libres (free products – libre meaning free in the sense of liberty as opposed to gratis) line of fifty foodstuffs, including oil, biscuits (crackers and cookies), milk, and pasta, sold in unbranded white packages at substantially lower prices.
May 2011: Considering the stagnant growth and has faced increased competition in France from rivals including Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA, Carrefour will expense 1.5 billion-euro ($2.1 billion) to change the supermarket with new concept as Carrefour Planet in Western Europe.
Slogans
- Hypermarkets: "Choice and quality for everyone"
- Hypermarkets: "Está bueno para vos" and "Los precios más bajos, siempre" (Argentina), it means "It's good for you" and "Always the lowest prices" respectively.
- Hypermarkets: "Bons momentos começam aqui." and "É lá que a gente vai encontrar!" (Brazil), it means "Good moments start here" and "That's where we will find!" respectively. "
- Hypermarkets: "Life, the way I want it"(Singapore)
- Hypermarkets: "Untuk hidup yang lebih baik" (Indonesia), it means "For a better life"
- Hypermarkets: "Pentru o viaţă mai bună" (Romania), it means "For a better life"
- Supermarkets: "The prices people want, close to home"
- Hard Discount: "Grocery products at low, low prices"
- Convenience Stores: "Just what you need, right next door"
- Cash & Carry: "Proximity and accessibility for catering professionals"
- Hypermarkets, Cash & Carry: "Καθε μέρα για σένα"(Cyprus) means "Every day, for you"
- Hypermarkets: "Pozytywnie każdego dnia" (Poland), it means "Positively every day"
Slogans en France
- "Carrefour, la qualité pour tous"
- "Le positif est de retour"
- "Avec Carrefour je positive !"
- "Carrefour, parce qu’on se construit chaque jour"
French operations
The chain's Carrefour Hypermarket division has its head office in Courcouronnes, Essonne, France, near Évry.
International operations
Bahrain
Carrefour has also opened a franchise owned branch in the Bahrain City Centre in 2008.
China
In 2007, expansion accelerated outside France, particularly in Asia, with the building of 36 new hypermarkets, including 22 in China – where the Group broke its record for store openings in a one-year period.
Egypt
Carrefour has seven outlets under franchise in Egypt, which are often situated in shopping malls and frequented by the Egyptian upper class. The location in Alexandria was severely looted during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.
Morocco
Carrefour has 3 hypermarkets in Morocco. Carrefour maroc is a partner of Label'vie, a Moroccan supermarket chain. Carrefour is still expanding it's presents in Morocco by opening supermarkets. (Carrefour Market)
India
The new store, Carrefour Wholesale Cash&Carry in Seelampur area of New Delhi is spread across 5,200 square meter and will house over 10,000 stock-keeping units to cater to professional businesses, institutions, restaurants and local retailers. Since the FDI policy in India does not allow foreign companies to open multi-brand retail stores in the country, global retailers have opted for the cash-and-carry route to establish their presence here. India currently allows 51 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in single-brand retail and 100 per cent in the cash-and-carry segment, but none in multi-brand retail. currently indian government give nod for 100 percent FDI in multi brand retail.
Iraq
Carrefour is to open 5 stores in Iraq in the city of Erbil in 2011.
Jordan
Carrefour also operates in the United Arab Emirates and Jordan in a joint venture with Majid al Futtaim.
Kuwait
In March 2007, Carrefour opened a store in Kuwait in the Avenues mall.
Taiwan
In 1989, Carrefour became the first international retailer to establish a presence in Asia when it entered Taiwan through a joint venture with Uni President Enterprises Corporation. It leveraged the experience it gathered in Taiwan to expand into other Asian markets.
Saudi Arabia
Carrefour also has 11 franchise operated hypermarkets in Saudi Arabia, with 5 of them being in the capital Riyadh itself.
Oman
In Oman, Carrefour opened a store in 2003 on the outskirts of the city of Muscat. And in 2008, another branch opened in Qurum.
United Arab Emirates
Carrefour also operates in the United Arab Emirates and Jordan in a joint venture with Majid al Futtaim.
United Kingdom
Carrefour had several hypermarkets in the UK until the 1980s. They were located in Caerphilly (South Wales), Merry Hill in Dudley, Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham), Glasshoughton (near Castleford), Eastleigh (near Southampton), MetroCentre in Gateshead, Telford Shopping Centre (Shropshire), Boroughbridge (North Yorkshire), Swindon and Cribbs Causeway in Bristol. All stores were later acquired by the Dee Corporation, but continued to trade as Carrefour for some time before being converted to Gateway Superstores. Today many of the old Carrefour stores in the UK are branches of Asda.
Previous Operations
In 2006, Carrefour decided to sell all 16 stores in Korea to E-Land and exited their business in Korea. In 2010, Carrefour decided to leave Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. However, in November 2010, Carrefour decided to sell its Thailand operations, but the Malaysian and Singaporean operation, will retain.
Africa
Country | First store | Hypermarkets | Supermarkets | Hard Discounters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Egypt | 2002 | 4 | 5 | – |
| Morocco | 2009 | 3 | 2 | – |
| Tunisia | 2001 | 1 | 2 | – |
| Algeria | 2005 | Closed | - | – |
Carrefour has left Algeria in 2009, and opened in Morocco.
Europe
| Country | First store | Hypermarkets | Supermarkets | Hard Discounters | Convenience Stores | Cash & Carry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Azerbaijan | 2010 | 3 | 3 | - | - | – |
| Belgium | 2000 | 56 | 280 | - | 257 | – |
| Bulgaria | 2009 | 5 | - | - | - | – |
| Cyprus | 2006 | 7 | 8 | - | - | – |
| France | 1960 | 218 | 1,021 | 897 | 3,245 | 134 |
| Greece | 1991 | 28 | 210 | 397 | 216 | – |
| Italy | 1993 | 59 | 485 | - | 1,015 | 20 |
| Monaco | - | - | 1 | - | - | – |
| Poland | 1997 | 72 | 277 | - | 5 | – |
| Portugal | 1991 | - | - | 365 | - | – |
| Romania | 2001 | 32 | 32 | - | - | – |
| Spain | 1973 | 161 | 87 | 2,912 | 3 | – |
| Slovakia | 1998 | 4 | - | - | - | – |
| Turkey | 1993 | 19 | 99 | 519 | - | – |
| United Kingdom/Ireland | - | - | - | - | - | – |
On October 15, 2009, Carrefour announced plans to sell its Russian business, citing "absence of sufficient organic growth and acquisition opportunities".
Americas
- Carrefour has a presence in 4 countries in the Americas: Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic. Carrefour is active in 3 types of retail distribution: hypermarkets, supermarkets and hard discounters, and entered the Cash & Carry market in Brazil, after the purchase of Atacadão. Carrefour was also active in Mexico between 1995 and 2005, when the 29 hypermarkets opened at the moment were sold to Chedraui.
| Country | First store | Hypermarkets | Supermarkets | Hard Discounters | Convenience Stores | Cash & Carry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 1982 | 59 | 103 | 395 | - | - |
| Brazil | 1975 | 150 | 38 | 300 | 5 | 34 |
| Colombia | 1998 | 74 | - | - | - | - |
| Dominican Republic | 2000 | 5 | 10 | - | 20 | 85 |
Store brands
- Hypermarkets
Carrefour, Atacadão, Hyperstar.
- Supermarkets
Carrefour Bairro, Carrefour Express, Carrefour Market (Formerly Champion as of 2008), Champion Mapinomovaoe, Globi, GB, GS, Carrefour mini, Gima.
- Hard discount stores
Dia, Ed, Minipreço.
- Convenience stores
Carrefour City, 5 minutes, 8 à Huit, Marche Plus, Proxi (supermarket), Sherpa, Dìperdì, Smile Market, Ok!, Express, Shopi (supermarket).
- Cash & Carry
Carrefour Contact, Promocash, Docks Market, Gross IPer.
Criticism and controversies
On May 1, 2007, more than 30 employees of the now closed Carrefour Ratu Plaza, Jakarta, Indonesia, were taken to the Central Pertamina Hospital (Rumah Sakit Pusat Pertamina), after being poisoned by CO2. The hypermarket was located on the mall's basement, which offered insufficient ventilation.
On June 26, 2007 the company was convicted in a French court for false advertising. The suit alleged that Carrefour regularly stocked insufficient quantities of advertised products for sale. In addition, the company was convicted of selling products below cost and accepting kickbacks from wholesalers. Carrefour was ordered to pay a fine of €2 million and to prominently and legibly display a notice in all of its French stores disclosing the false advertising.
In Carrefour Mangga Dua Square, Jakarta, Indonesia, a 5-metre high metal rack fell on top of a 3-year old boy, killing him almost instantly due to internal bleeding. Afterwards, the victim's family claimed that Carrefour has refused to meet with them to settle the case. However, Carrefour Corporate Affairs Officer denied this allegation.
On May 7, 2009, the French government asked a tribunal to fine Carrefour some €220,000 for more than 2,500 violations. Meat products lacked proper tracking information (more than 25% of inventory at some locations), and some products had incorrect labels – such as meat products that "shrank" in weight by 15% after receiving labels. The chain sold products that had long since passed their expiration dates, including, in one case, packs of baby formula that had expired six months earlier. Some 1,625 frozen and refrigerated products were found that had been stored in warehouses at ambient temperature.
Boycott of supplies in China
In April 2008, after the 2008 Olympic torch relay was disrupted by Tibetan independence advocates in London and especially Paris, where some protesters attempted to wrest control of the torch from torch bearers, Chinese activists have promoted boycotting Carrefour because of its French roots. The boycott of Carrefour in particular was further fueled by unsubstantiated rumours that a major shareholder, Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton, had donated to the Dalai Lama. In its response, Carrefour China stated that it does support the Beijing Olympics; and that they will never do anything to harm the feelings of Chinese people. Protests occurred in and around a number of Carrefour outlets throughout China, and anti-Carrefour advocates campaigned for a one-day boycott of Carrefour on May Day, a public holiday in China.
As a result of the boycott, Chinese search engines Baidu.com.cn and sina.com blocked access to Carrefour's website in China for a short time. Users searching Carrefour in China, it was given an error page indicating "The search result may contain illegal content, so we can not display the result." in Chinese.
Former countries
- Chile ― In 2004, Carrefour sold its 8 hypermarkets in Chile to D&S;
- Czech Republic – In September 2005, Carrefour sold to Tesco (the biggest UK retailer) 11 stores in the Czech Republic. Tesco paid €57.4 million as well as its stores in Taiwan. Carrefour had opened its first store in 1998 in the Czech Republic. The stores use the Tesco name and brand now;
- Hong Kong – On September 18, 2000, Carrefour closed its stores in Hong Kong after complaints from manufacturers about selling products (especially electronics) at prices far below those of its competitors. A company spokesman said at that time that the closures were due to "difficulties in finding sites suitable for developing its hypermarket concept and quickly acquiring a significant market share". Carrefour had entered the Hong Kong market in December 1996 with a store in Heng Fa Chuen and had later added stores in Tsuen Wan, Tuen Mun and Yuen Long. Plans to open additional stores in Ma On Shan and Tseung Kwan O had been cancelled.
- Japan – In 2005, Carrefour sold its 8 hypermarkets to AEON Group;
- Mexico – In March 2005, Carrefour sold its 29 hypermarkets in Mexico to Chedraui. Carrefour had opened its first store in 1995 in Mexico, However, there were rumors he returned Mexico trough Comercial Mexicana stores;
- Portugal – Carrefour entered Portugal by buying its first stores in 1991 – two Euromaché hypermarkets, in Telheiras (a Lisbon neighbourhood) and Vila Nova de Gaia (suburbs of Porto); This chain was known to have very good quality products, mainly from French origin, when in July 2007 Carrefour sold all of its 12 hypermarkets and 9 fuel stations to Sonae for €662 million. Also included were 11 licenses for opening new commercial spaces. Nowadays only the 365 hard-discount supermarkets (Minipreço) are supported by Carrefour in this country, not included in the takeover.
- Russia – Carrefour entered Russian market in Summer of 2009. In October 2009, only a month after it opened its second hypermarket in the country, Carrefour announced it was exiting Russia.
- South Korea – In 2006, Carrefour sold its 32 hypermarkets to E-Land. The stores have been re-branded as Homever.
- Switzerland – In August 2007 Carrefour sold its 12 hypermarkets in Switzerland to Swiss retailer Coop for $390 million;
- Thailand - Carrefour's business in Thailand was sold to Big C Supercenter Public Company Limited, the owner of Big C hypermarket stores in Thailand. The transaction is completed in March 2011, with the Suwintawong branch being the first changed brand store from Carrefour to Big C. Carrefour entered the Thai market in 1996.
- United Kingdom – Carrefour had several hypermarkets in the UK until the end of the 1980s. The first of these was opened in the early 1970s in Caerphilly, South Wales. Subsequent outlets were opened at Merry Hill, Dudley; Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham; Glasshoughton (near Castleford); Eastleigh, Hampshire; MetroCentre (Gateshead); Telford Shopping Centre, Shropshire; Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire; Swindon and Cribbs Causeway in Bristol. All stores were later acquired by the Dee Corporation, but continued to trade as Carrefour for some time before being converted to Gateway Superstores. Today many of the old Carrefour stores in the UK are branches of Asda, notably the branch at the Merry Hill store in the West Midlands; it had opened in July 1986 as one of the complex's first tenants, only to become a Gateway when Carrefour pulled out of Britain in 1988; it became an Asda in 1990 when Gateway withdrew from Merry Hill. In 2011, they returned to the UK market via a supply deal with Ocado.
- United States – Carrefour opened hypermarkets in Philadelphia and Voorhees Township, New Jersey, in 1988 and 1992 respectively. Both stores closed in 1994. Some associates wore roller skates to facilitate moving about the large building. The Voorhees location now houses a Kohl's department store, a Raymour & Flanigan furniture store, and a Marshalls discount clothing store. The Philadelphia location (within the Franklin Mills Mall complex) houses a few stores, including a Walmart, which will close and move to the main Franklin Mills complex later in 2011, and Dick's Sporting Goods.
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