Auchan cannot stop French turnover slide

Strong Asian performance

Auchan’s French turnover dropped 2.9 % to 9.1 billion euro, which is a 2 % like-for-like turnover drop. The company has experienced turnover drops in France for the past two years now.

The group’s total turnover did increase 3.4 % to 26.9 billion euro and would have had a 2 % turnover growth if exchange rates had remained stable. A 28.6 % turnover increase in Asia was the major contributor, although exchange rates were a huge factor. Excluding those, local turnover would have increased 7 %.

Auchan not only experienced a French turnover drop, but a 4.4 % turnover drop for the entire Western European market, down to 4.8 billion euro. Its Central and Eastern European activities had to deal with a 6.4 % turnover drop, which would have turned into a 10.6 % turnover increase if exchange rates had remained stable.

Arcimbo formula canned

Alongside its published results, Auchan revealed it canned its Arcimbo formula after a failed trial period. Auchan Ville and Coeur de Nature will stay on as formulas. The latter will get new stores in Île-de-France for example, with the very first Auchan Gourmand planned for opening in 2017 in Marseille.