In the first quarter of 2019, Carrefour group performed slightly better than expected, mainly thanks to higher food sales in the home market. Although the turnover in Belgium went down again, the retailer sounds rather positive.
“Improvement in competitive market”
The turnover of the French retail group increased – on a comparable basis – by 2.7 % to 20.6 billion euros. In France, growth was 1 % as food sales went up 2 %, while non-food sales continued to decline. The hypermarkets improved by 0.1 %, the supermarkets by 1.5 % and the other formats by 2.6 %. The retailer sees a positive impact of price investments and a new loyalty program. There is growth in organic sales, e-commerce and convenience.
In Belgium, sales decreased by 3.5 % to 987 million euros. This is mainly due to restructuring measures that were implemented last year, such as some reductions in store size. On a comparable basis, the decline was only 0.4 %, leading the retailer to speak of an improvement in a very competitive market. Carrefour Belgium recently announced quite a few initiatives, such as an expansion of its private label offering and the organic assortment, the opening of separate organic stores, further expansion in the convenience channel (with automated stores) and a collaboration with pharmacy chain Medi-Market.
Elsewhere in Europe, sales declined in Spain and Italy, but increased in Poland and Romania. The group is growing in Brazil, while sales in China are falling by 4.4 %. The group is taking further steps in its ambitious transformation plan. The hypermarkets model in particular is being further tackled: various stores are reducing their surface area and their non-food departments. In Avignon, the retailer tests a low cost store concept.
