Carrefour changes the meaning of the word hypermarket

The word revolution can be abused, but in this case it is difficult to find a more appropriate expression. Carrefour is preparing a series of very serious changes in France. Serious enough that after their implementation it will not be easy to determine if we are still dealing with something that we usually refer to as a supermarket.

But let's start with the fact that all of this transformation would probably not be had it not for the powerful problems of the French network in its backwoods. We are still waiting for 2018 data, in 2017 Carrefour's operating income in France dropped by 32.9 percent. (Y / y). And nothing strange, because hypermarkets have more and more uphill . Customers are moving away from shopping for discounters and smaller stores.

At some point, there were even speculations regarding the closing (or selling) of the stores abroad by the French - cuts were to concern, among others Polish and Argentina. The network has implemented a savings plan with the unsubstantiated name of "Carrefour 2022", whose immediate goal is to reduce costs by EUR 2 billion by 2020. How? Among other things, by releasing almost 2.5 thousand people.

The transformation described by "Lineaires" in this plan is inscribed. We got to know the ideas to be implemented in 2019 thanks to the leakage of documents revealed by the trade union CGT.

Changes in Carrefour.

One of the most interesting proposals seems to be the complete abandonment of employees in some non-food departments. Their place will be taken by self-service checkouts, which for the time being in the average store are responsible for the margin of the total number of transactions.

The network also resigns from departments with electronics, jewelry and electronic equipment. This does not mean, however, that the assortment will disappear from the outlets. The French have been implementing the idea of ​​a "store in the store" for some time. A part of the area is given by the tenants, just being satisfied with the rent. How it looks in practice can be seen on the example of Warsaw, Vilnius, where Media Markt was created in the middle of Carrefour.

However, we are going further. From the customer's point of view, it may be interesting that Carrefour intends to build a discount store to which it will deliver the outstanding goods. At present, 10 such stores are operating in France, and another 10 branches will be launched in 2019. The French also attach a large role to online sales by increasing the number of collection points and expanding the area of ​​click & collect points.

Saving the network also wants to make by donating unprofitable franchise outlets. This fate is to meet at least 10 points. Documents indicate that the cuts will also affect the managerial staff, which is to be noticeably slimmed down.

What is waiting for Poland?

Carrefour's transformation has affected our country to a certain extent. Last year, the network launched a website for online shopping with us, it also joined an alliance with the mentioned Media Markt. On the Vistula, the French are also focusing on expanding the network of neighborhood stores. Because, unlike supermarkets, they usually have the option of trading on Sundays.

Carrefour changes the meaning of the word hypermarket