French retailers are stepping up competition over neighborhood stores

In the French market, which is still dominated by large hypermarkets, food retailers are pursuing ambitious expansion plans for their neighborhood stores. E.Leclerc, Coopérative U, and Intermarché, among others, are challenging Carrefour’s market leadership in this segment.

Catching up

French market leader E.Leclerc, known for its large hypermarkets, opened a store of just 100 m² in a small village in the Dordogne in March. It is the chain’s smallest store in the country, operated and stocked by the owner of a hypermarket ten kilometers away. Customers can have a wider selection delivered to the pickup point at the village store. It is a new model with which the retailer hopes to grow in rural areas, writes trade magazine LSA.