Downtrading hampers Carrefour results

French retailer Carrefour blames downtrading among money-stretched consumers for a slower growth in the last quarter. Belgium was again among the strongest performers in Europe, while sales in Brazil are falling.

Strong performance in Belgium

Carrefour’s third-quarter sales grew 9 % to 23.36 billion euros: the slowdown in growth compared to recent quarters is partly due to lower food inflation in France and falling food prices in Brazil, where sales fell 3.7 %.

European comparable growth was 4.1 %, with Belgium as the best performed with comparable growth of 7.5 %. Belgian sales exceeded 1.1 billion euros: a strong performance resulting from the commercial initiatives the retailer has introduced since a year. Over the past nine months, Carrefour Belgium posted comparable growth of 10 %.

Volumes under pressure

Despite positive results like these, the context remains difficult, Carrefour says. Consumers are downtrading: they are buying less and looking for cheaper alternatives. As a result, volumes are under pressure. The retailer is responding with price cuts and with a stronger focus on private brands, which now have a sales share of more than 35 % and should reach 40 % by the end of 2026. To cut costs, Carrefour franchises less profitable or loss-making hypermarkets and supermarkets in its home market.

Still, CEO Alexandre Bompard shows no worries and confirms the previously stated outlook for the full financial year: “Against a background of continued pressure on our customers’ purchasing power, our group confirms the strength of its commercial dynamism and the attractiveness of its business model”, he stated in a press release.