[Interview] Geoffroy Gersdorff (Carrefour Belgium): “We are stronger than we were a year ago”

2024 is the year in which Carrefour Belgium returns to profitability, CEO Geoffroy Gersdorff says. As he looks back upon a strong 2023, he reaches out to his suppliers: “This is the moment to work together constructively.”

On track

Carrefour has just announced its full-year financial results for 2023, with a 9 % sales growth in Belgium: 11.3 % in the first half, 7 % in the second half. “We have been growing for six quarters in a row now. The dynamics are positive”, Gersdorff said in an interview with RetailDetail.

“It is important to point out that we are growing not only in sales, but also in volumes sold: it is not a pure inflation effect. We are also gaining market share with our three store formats: Hyper, Market and Express.” The Net Promotor Score, which measures customer satisfaction, reached a record score at the end of last year. In short, after the first year of the Carrefour 2026 strategic plan, the food retailer is on track: “In 2024, we will be profitable again! That will still require great efforts, but we are travelling in the right direction.”

Delhaize

Of course, an obvious question here is: how big was the impact of the strikes at competitor Delhaize in these positive results? “In March and April it obviously helped us. It gave our figures a temporary spike, but we were already gaining market share before the crisis at Delhaize – and we are still gaining market share in recent weeks as well”, Gersdorff emphasises.

“The base for comparison in 2024 will be challenging, especially in March and April, but we have an action plan and are continuing to roll out our strategic plan. We are allocating more than fifty million euros to further improve our stores, taking into account our customers’ comments. Every week we have more than 3,000 interactions with customers. They ask questions, formulate complaints… This helps us get our priorities right.”

Purchasing power

Carrefour is reaping the results of a whole range of initiatives, such as the stronger focus on its private label offering: “We have never sold so many Carrefour products: one product in two that we sell in our shops is a private label product. We have the widest offer in Belgium with 3,300 references, which are 30 % cheaper than national brands.” These products also perfectly mirror the food transition: they now contain less salt, less sugar, less packaging…

Purchasing power promotions have helped as well, Gersdorff adds. “The offer of fruit and vegetables at less than one euro is catching on. We have now completed the sixth wave of price cuts. We are negotiating in abundance with our manufacturers. All the reductions we get from our suppliers, we pass on to consumers. Purchasing power remains the main concern of our customers. We are fighting inflation every day.”

No empty shelves

This sometimes leads to discussions with brand manufacturers. Carrefour does not simply dismisses every price increases, the CEO says: “Olive oil is getting more expensive, as is chocolate: we understand that, no problem. But sometimes there is no credible link between the demanded price increase and reality. Unfortunately, we still have some discussions, like with PepsiCo, and sometimes that forces us to take hard decisions. We do not have to always say yes. But that is not so exceptional: our colleagues sometimes do the same. The discussions are taking place at European level and at the moment there is no agreement. But to be clear: we have more agreements and contracts than ongoing discussions. And our shelves are not empty.”

“We want to sell even more Belgian, healthy and sustainable products”, Gersdorff says. “And we also want to support national brands, because after all, they are at serious risk. We not only have the biggest offer in private label, but also in national brands. We can be their best partner, we theatralise their innovations in our shops, we give them visibility, we run promotions… But they have to remain affordable, and they have to add value against our own brands. On Friday, we will organise a forum with 400 suppliers. This is the moment to work together constructively.”

Clear choices

To regain profitability, Carrefour is making clearer choices. “We have stopped activities like the Carrefour Bio shop or the Simply You Box, to free up resources for priorities such as logistics, digitisation and efficiency. We make decisions based on data, not gut feeling. For example, we adjust the range by shop: an Express near a school carries a different product range than an Express near a subway station. We also cooperate more closely at group level, not only for negotiations but also in terms of digitisation, for example. We exchange best practices, that way we become stronger and move faster.”

The CEO is convinced that ultimately, Carrefour has to make the difference in the shops. To reinforce that awareness among head office staff, the executive committee and some colleagues visit integrated shops every Friday and franchises every Saturday. “That is a great incentive”, he says.

Plans per store

“Not all integrated shops are profitable yet, but we are working with our social partners to look for the best way to make that happen. I always prefer the constructive dialogue over a ‘take it or leave it’ plan.” Franchising all shops, like Delhaize did, is not an option for Carrefour: “It is important for us as a franchiser to have our own stores: as pilot shops, to test commercial concepts and to speak the same language as our franchisees.”

Does that mean we can expect store closures? “We have a lot of action plans per shop, with a dedicated timing. We are going to do our best to solve everything, but I cannot allow that our franchisees would have to pay for the integrated shops. Each store has to find its own profitability. Last year, we saw a positive trend in most shops, but it is not enough yet.”

Unique positioning

Further expansion is also planned this year. “We hope to open some twenty new stores, most of them in city centres using the Express concept. We are further rolling out the BuyBye vending machines, at Carrefour Market as well. Another growth area is the further development of our e-commerce, a third opportunity is B2B: with a dedicated team we will work on SMEs and the catering industry. We are barely present there so far, we see it as an interesting opportunity. It is a separate world that we need to get to know better.”

“Carrefour is stronger than it was a year ago”, Gersdorff concludes: “We are ready for 2024.” Still, the retailer has to work hard on its identity in Belgium, he realises. “We are present in all villages and towns in the country, but if people only come to shop with us because we are close by, that is not enough. We have a unique position in Belgium with our four formats, with our own brands, our Bonus card… We have to keep reiterating who we are. That is crucial. We are going to do that with a new marketing campaign, soon.”