French retail giant Carrefour has signed an agreement to acquire 51% of Chinese hypermarket operator Baolongcang.The founders of Baolongcang, one of the main hypermarket operators in Hebei, near Beijing, will keep a 49% stake in the 11-store chain. The acquisition has been approved by local competition commission authorities. In 2009, Baolongcang’s stores posted CNY1.06bn (US$156.4m) sales excluding taxes. Carrefour said yesterday (15 July) the acquisition highlights its efforts to “strengthen... ...Read more »

French retail giant Carrefour has revealed that it is preparing to open its first cash and carry outlet in the Indian market. “The Carrefour Group will open its first cash and carry store in the next few months,” a spokesperson for the company told just-food today (12 May). Indian rules governing foreign direct investment in the retail sector prohibit international retailers from operating multi-brand outlets that sell directly to the public. However, overseas retailers are allowed to... ...Read more »

Foreign retailers operating in China saw their sales and their store-opening programmes outpace their domestic rivals in 2009, according to the latest industry data in the country.Sales from the 20 “foreign-funded” retailers that are among China’s top 100 retail chains, including Carrefour China, grew by 20.4% in 2009, the China Chain Store & Franchise Association (CCFA) said yesterday (29 March). The association said the sales growth achieved by foreign retailers was “significantly... ...Read more »

Lars Olofsson, Chief Executive Officer and Board Member of Carrefour, has appointed Vicente Trius as Executive Director, Europe and member of the Group’s Executive Board, in charge of Belgium, Spain, Italy, Poland, Greece, Cyprus and Romania. Vicente Trius, a 52‐year‐old Spanish national, has spent most of his professional life at Wal‐Mart, where he was successively Vice‐President for International Operations, CEO, Brazil and CEO Asia. Until this year, he was Wal‐Mart’s Executive... ...Read more »

Belgian’s three major food retailers are under investigation for allegedly fixing the price of Ferrero’s iconic Nutella chocolate spread over a six-year period. The allegations stem from a long running investigation into the confectionery sector by Belgian’s Competition Council, with the case now set to go to a chamber of the Competition Council where retailers Delhaize, Carrefour and Colruyt, along with Ferrero, will have the opportunity to respond to the claims. The Competition... ...Read more »

The world’s largest retailers are set to get much bigger over the coming five years as developing markets like Brazil and China spur growth. IGD’s latest report, Global Retailing: Preparing for Change, also predicts that the world’s third largest retailer, Tesco, will grow at a faster pace than French retailer Carrefour to see it claim second spot by 2012, with forecasts suggesting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11% and 7% for Tesco and Carrefour respectively between 2007... ...Read more »

Planet Retail has announced the world’s top 30 grocery retailers (by sales), with Wal-Mart at the top of the heap for the tenth straight year. Sales of US$395.31* billion (A$419.45 billion) last year enabled US retailer Wal-Mart to eclipse the French-based Carrefour in second place, which had approximately A$145 billion in sales. Tesco, the leading UK retailer, climbed from fourth to third thanks to sales of A$105 billion. Australia’s two market leaders, Woolworths and Coles Group, ... ...Read more »

Multinational retailer Tesco has been named Retailer of the Year at the World Retail Congress in Barcelona with French supermarket operators Carrefour rewarded with the prize of top food retailer in Europe. The awards are based on Interbrand rankings which are determined financial performance, company profile, customer service levels and innovation.  Read More →