Carrefour Group, S.A., is a French multinational retail and wholesaling corporation headquartered in Massy, France. It operates a chain of hypermarkets, grocery stores and convenience stores. By 2024, the group had 14,000 stores in 40 countries.[1] It is the seventh-largest retailer in the world by revenue.[7]
History
The first Carrefour shop (not a hypermarket) opened in 1960, within suburban Annecy, near a crossroads (hence the name ― carrefour means crossroads in French). The group was created in 1958 by Marcel Fournier, Denis Defforey and Jacques Defforey,[8] who were influenced by several seminars in the United States led by Bernardo Trujillo.
The Carrefour group was the first in Europe to open a hypermarket: a large supermarket and a department store under the same roof. They opened their first hypermarket on 15 June 1963 in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, near Paris.[9]
In 1969, the company began opening its first stores beyond national borders, starting with neighboring Belgium. During the 1970s, it started developing its retail network across other continents as well.
In 1999, it merged with the Promodès group through a stock swap.[10] On the Italian market, where it had been present since 1972[11], it acquired the Generale Supermercati (GS)[12] and DìPerDì networks in 2000, progressively replacing their branding; from 2009, it began to focus on the central-northern area of the country. Its presence in the south developed mainly through franchising.[13][14]
From 2008, Carrefour decided to invest in Eastern European countries (primarily Romania and Bulgaria) and China, reaching over 100 stores, and launched several openings in Russia and China with strategic consultancy from Citigroup. However, the expansion project in Russia was shelved in 2009 after the opening of a megastore in Moscow, an area that boasted a per capita income twice the national average but was, at the same time, a market that had reached the limit of its potential.[15]
In May 2011, Carrefour decided to invest €1.5 billion ($2.22 billion) to introduce the supermarket concept of Carrefour Planet in Western Europe.
On 9 June 2017, the board of directors chose Alexandre Bompard as its new chairman and chief executive officer as of 18 July 2017.[16]
In 2017, Carrefour began working with a small French start-up focused on food recycling, Expliceat, on a trial basis.[17]
In January 2018, Alexandre Bompard announced a strategic plan for the company, entitled "Carrefour 2022" that included measures for improved food and package sustainability, limitation of food waste, development of organic products, e-commerce partnerships, and two billion euros in annual investments from 2018 as well as organisational and cost reduction measures.[18][19]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Carrefour was the first retailer to join the C'est qui le Patron ? initiative to share its additional incomes related to COVID-19 to support people who were suffering from pandemic.[20]
In January 2025, the Puig & fils group (92 Petit Casino or Vival supermarkets), then in April 2025 the Magne group (101 Petit Casino or Vival supermarkets), announced that it was leaving the Groupe Casino for Carrefour.[21]
On 12 November 2025, the Saadé family — owners of the shipping-group CMA CGM — acquired a 4% stake in the French retail giant Carrefour, becoming its second-largest shareholder and obtaining a board seat from 1 December 2025.[22][23]
Financial data
Domestic operations
The headquarters of the Groupe Carrefour is in Massy, in the Paris metropolitan area. In 2019, the former Carrefour head office of Boulogne-Billancourt and the Carrefour France division office of Courcouronnes, Essonne, near Évry, were combined at that major location. A secondary head office is located in Mondeville, near Caen (Normandy), which was until 1999 the former Promodès headquarters.
In France, Carrefour operates under its name over 230 hypermarkets (from 2500 up to 23000 sq m sales area), 1020 Carrefour Market supermarkets (generally from 1000 up to 4000 sq m), and over 2000 smaller supermarkets and convenience stores under the Carrefour City, Carrefour Contact and Carrefour Express banners.
Carrefour also owns the Promocash Cash&Carry chain (130 locations) and supplies 1500 independent small food stores under the Proxi banner.
In 2019, the group launched its first Supeco soft discount stores, which are so far all located in the French Northern region Hauts-de-France.
In December 2023, Carrefour and Uber decided to team up to get access to the French supermarket chain's charging points for electric vehicles. Uber has invested around $323,400 to allow its VTC (tourist vehicle with drivers) drivers using EVs to charge their cars in the Carrefour Énergies' stations in France.[26]
International operations
By 2024, the group had 14,000 stores in 40 countries.[1]
Criticism and controversies
On 1 May 2007, more than 30 employees of the now-closed Carrefour Ratu Plaza, Jakarta, Indonesia, were taken to the Pertamina Central Hospital after being poisoned by carbon monoxide. The hypermarket was located in the mall's basement, which offered insufficient ventilation.[130]
On 26 June 2007, the company was convicted in a French court for false advertising. The suit alleged that Carrefour regularly stocked insufficient quantities of advertised products for sale. In addition, the company was convicted of selling products below cost and accepting kickbacks from wholesalers. Carrefour was ordered to pay a fine of €2 million and to prominently and legibly display a notice in all of its French stores disclosing the false advertising.[131]
In Carrefour Mangga Dua Square in Jakarta, Indonesia, a 5-metre high metal rack fell on top of a 3-year-old boy, killing him almost instantly due to internal bleeding.[132] Afterwards, the victim's family claimed that Carrefour has refused to meet with them to settle the case.[133]
Mobile
Carrefour Mobile is a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) owned by Carrefour.[188]
Carrefour offers its mobile telephony services in:
Carrefour first launched its mobile service in Belgium, in partnership with Effortel and using Effortel Technologies as Mobile Virtual Network Enabler (MVNE), on the existing BASE network infrastructure.
In France, this offer was launched by exploiting the infrastructure of the Orange network and using the company Experian as MVNE. This operator first offered prepaid offers, and since September 2007 has offered packages. Carrefour Mobile's offer is in competition with that offered by A-Mobile, of the Auchan group.
Since then, Carrefour has launched a service in several other countries, in particular, Carrefour was the first MVNO in Italy, launching the service in June 2007, in partnership with Effortel.
On 24 September 2012 the MVNO offer stopped in France but the brand maintained a specific offer provided by Orange.
Carrefour Foundation
The Carrefour Foundation (Fondation d'Enterprise Carrefour) is a philanthropic fund created by Carrefour in 2000 to support social welfare programmes 'linked to [its] core business as a retailer' in countries the company operates and in countries where its suppliers are located.[189]
See also
- Groupe Casino
- Companies of France
- European Retail Round Table
- List of companies of France
- List of hypermarkets
- Carrefour Marinopoulos
- Sherpa (brand)
External links
- Yahoo! – Carrefour SA Company Profile
- The history-book of Yves Soulabail, Carrefour Un combat pour la liberté, Le Loup Hurlant Editions, 2010.
References
- . Groupe Carrefour carrefour.com, 2024^
- NewPrinces to Acquire Carrefour Italy for 1 Billion Euros^
- BREAKING Carrefour se pregătește să vândă magazinele din România și a mandatat banca BNP să caute cumpărător - presa franceză / Exit și din Polonia, Italia și Argentina / Compania susține că măsurile de austeritate din România afectează vânzările