Aasas
The Carrefour group - Europe's leading retailer
The very first Carrefour hypermarket opened in 1963 in Sainte Geneviève des Bois, France.
The self-service concept, with "everything under one roof," was entirely new at the time. Drawing from its success at home, Carrefour expanded and exported its business model, starting, quite naturally, in Europe, opening the first Carrefour hypermarket abroad in 1969, in Belgium. Today, Europe is Carrefour's largest market, accounting for over 83% of the company's annual sales, at 68.4 billion euros (45.8% generated in France and 37.5% in other European countries). The Carrefour group has over 13,000 stores in Europe, each falling within one of four categories: hypermarket, supermarket, convenience store or hard discount store. The group's strength lies in its ability to tailor store formats to the specifics of local demand in each country, region and town where it is present. A complementary mix of store formats also contributes to the group's success, allowing it to better meet the expectations of all Carrefour customers. As a result, Carrefour has taken the lead in France, Belgium, Spain, Greece and Cyprus, and ranks among the top three retailers in Italy, Poland, Turkey and Romania. The group has also established presence in Portugal under the "Mini Preço" banner.
The Carrefour group - Leading the way in Europe's mature and growth markets
One of the group's main assets on the European market relates to having two drivers of growth: mature countries and growth countries.
The group's four mature markets are France, Spain, Belgium and Italy, which together account for over 72% of our sales. Despite the economic backdrop in these countries, with competition and market consolidation, the Carrefour group can count on several key assets that have ensured its leadership position in each of the four. The Carrefour brand is one of the most well-known and well-appreciated on the...
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