WHAT’S CARREFOUR >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Carrefour is a French multinational retailer

Headquartered in Boulogne Billancourt, France, in the Hauts-de-Seine Department near Paris.

One of the largest hypermarket chains in the world (with 1,452 hypermarkets at the end of 2011)

4th largest retail group in the world in terms of revenue (after Wal-Mart, Tesco and Costco)

3rd largest retail group in the world in terms of profit (after Wal-Mart and Tesco)

22nd company in FORTUNE 500

SOMETHING MORE

Carrefour works primarily in Europe, Argentina, Bahrain, Brazil, China, Dominican Republic, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Lebanon, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, additionally has shops in North Africa and different parts of Asia, with most stores being of littler size than hypermarket or even general store.

Carrefour signifies "intersection" and "open square" in French. Already the organization head office was in Levallois-Perret, additionally in the Paris rural areas.

HISTORY

BIRTH PLACE - in suburban Annecy near a crossroads (carrefour in French)

BIRTH DATE -1 January 1958

1st HYPERMARKET -3 June 1959

 Opened their first hypermarket on 15 June 1963 in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, near Paris in France

In April 1976, Carrefour launched a Private Label Products

French slogans

1988–2003  : With Carrefour, I'm positive (Avec Carrefour, je positive)

Since 2015 : I optimizme (J'optimisme)

International slogans

Hypermarkets: "Choice and quality for everyone"

Hypermarkets: "Está bueno para vos" and "Los precios más bajos siempre" (Argentina)

Hypermarkets: "Ninguém faz melhor que o primeiro" (Brazil)

^^World Distribution^^

GLOBAL STRATEGY

Within France, the group faces an extremely competitive pricing environment. Its hypermarket sales have been declining for a while because of the increasingly popular discount stores. Carrefour's hypermarket comparable turnover (including petrol) for the third quarter dropped 8%, with non-food comparable turnover falling 9.5% . Perhaps the one way its investors will be truly satisfied is if its French hypermarket division performs better, since it contributes approximately a quarter of Carrefour's global sales

International development of Carrefour

Year Country and mode of entry No. of st

Formats

1969 Belgium—Carrefour’s first hypermarket outside France

120 57(HM), 63(SM)

1973 Spain 2,241 162(HM), 96(SM), 1,972(HD), 11(CS)1975 Brazil—Carrefour’s first

hypermarket in the Americas476 162(HM), 39(SM), 267(HD),

8(CS)

1982 Argentina 518 67(HM), 112(SM), 339(HD)

1989 Taiwan—Carrefour’s first hypermarket in

59 HM

1991 Greece 544 31(HM), 209 (SM), 271 (HD), 33(CS)1993 Italy 494 66(HM), 236(SM), 178(CS), 14(C&C)1993 Turkey 578 22(HM), 125(SM), 431(HD)

1994 Malaysia 16 HM

1995 China 443 134(HM), 309(HD)

1996 Thailand 31 HM

1997 Poland 303 78 (HM), 225(SM)

1997 Singapore 2 HM

1998 Colombia 59 HM

1998 Indonesia 43 HM

2000 Japan 0

Note:HM = hypermarkets SM = supermarketsHD = hard discount stores CS = convenience stores C&C = cash and carry stores

Was UAE a favorable country to enter? UAE presented many advantages for companies

considering market entry into Dubai in 1995.

Despite a small population relative to other markets it served, UAE offered an unusual composition of Expatriates and local residents in an economy with one of the highest standards of living and income in the world.

The market was extremely business friendly with many

advantages like zero corporate taxes in conjunction with very few barriers to trade. It had superior transportation networks, a well-defined legal system, positive retail conditions, strong economic growth and low political, and transfer risks.

Marketing Strategy

Place:Carrefour/Majid al Futtaim’s strategy was to adapt to the cultural importance of shopping malls and create a “city within a city” by being located inside a mall with entertainment centers, cinemas, food courts and other convenience amenities. Hence, Carrefour decided to place its stores in big malls in Deira City Centre Mall, Mall of the Emirates, Al Mamzar Century Mall and Bur Dubai - Al Shindagha. Indeed this adaptation differed from Carrefour’s standard location of a freestanding warehouse-like building.

Product:Dubai was a very international and diverse Emirate, particularly due to the large number of foreign workers. As such, Carrefour adapted by accepting foreign credit cards, the currencies of all GCC countries and international currencies like the Euro and US dollar. While Carrefour implemented bilingual signage in the stores, language and cultural barriers were not likely problems given that English was so widely spoken and consumers had experience with Western products.

Promotion:Carrefour did not adapt its promotional effort, which consisted of discounting certain items. Majid Al Futtaim handled local promotions, and coordinated some of these regionally with its stores throughout the Middle East. Promotions were placed in print media and in-store, to attract mall-walking traffic. Because Dubai was a society emphasizing the importance of social relationship, Carrefour could reasonably expect that consumers might discuss some of the deals.

Price : Carrefour’s price position was as a discounter, and used pricing as part of its promotional effort. Because of its strong brand name, Carrefour did not have to worry about brand dilution due to its discounted products. However, discounting was problematic in Dubai where inflation was sky high, and when fluctuations in inflation could erode profits. Another pricing concern was the food retail market was most competitive and thus profit margins were thin. Carrefour could sell non-foods, household goods and toiletries at higher margins.