Carrefour opens first European Atacadão: “15 % cheaper”

Carrefour has opened its first Atacadão store in France today. The Brazilian cash-and-carry formula aims to be up to 15 % cheaper than normal hypermarkets and gives volume discounts: the more you buy, the lower the price.

For professional and private customers

The first French Atacadão opened its doors this morning in Aulnay-sous-Bois, a suburb north of Paris, in a former hypermarket building with a sales area of almost 10,000 sqm. The Brazilian chain, which was acquired by Carrefour in 2007, aims to be a response to high inflation with prices on average 10 to 15 % lower than in traditional hypermarkets.

Professional and private customers here can choose from up to 20,000 items (depending on the season), including 3,000 Carrefour private label items. 70 % of the offer is French. The emphasis is on food, but the retailer also sells some non-food, like gardening items.

No advertising

The store sells mostly large volumes, and the more of them you buy, the lower the price. A pack of Barilla tagliatelle 500g costs 1.65 euros, but from three pieces onwards, that becomes 1.53 euros per pack. Two litres of orange juice from Carrefour’s own brand costs 3.47 euros, but that becomes 3.23 euros if you buy four, Le Parisien reports. To cut costs, the shop layout is extremely frugal, with products sold from pallets. Stock is delivered directly to the shop by suppliers. Atacadão does not advertise or publish a leaflet.

Carrefour did not reveal the investment involved in launching the new shop format and remains vague about its expansion plans. “We are convinced of the potential of this shop format, but we will analyse the first results before expanding the concept“, Alexandre Bompard told business magazine Capital. The retailer plans to take six to eight months for that initial evaluation. Incidentally, the shop is operated by a franchise partner, Moroccan group LabelVie.