Carrefour S.A.

(French pronunciation: [kafu]) is a French multinational retailer headquartered in Boulogne Billancourt, France, in
the Hauts-de-Seine Department near Paris.[2] It is one of the largest hypermarket chains in the world (with 1,452 hypermarkets at the end of
2011[1]), the fourth largest retail group in the world in terms ofrevenue (after Wal-Mart, Tesco and Costco), and the third in profit (after Wal-Mart
and Tesco[3][4]). Carrefour operates mainly in Europe, Argentina, Bahrain, Brazil, China, Dominican Republic, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Qatar,
Lebanon, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, but also has shops in North Africa and other parts of Asia, with most stores being of smaller size than
hypermarket or even supermarket. Carrefour means "crossroads" and "public square" in French. Previously the company head office was
in Levallois-Perret, also in the Paris suburbs.[5] The company is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index.[6]

The first Carrefour store opened on 1 January 1958 in suburban Annecy near a crossroads (carrefour in French). The group was created
by Marcel Fournier, Denis Defforey and Jacques Defforey and grew into a chain from this first sales outlet. In 1999 it merged with Promods,
known as Continent, one of its major competitors in the French market.
Marcel Fournier, Denis Defforey and Jacques Defforey had attended several seminars in the United States led by "the Pope of retail" Bernardo
Trujillo (fr), who influenced them to move forward with Carrefour idea.
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-Genevive-des-Bois, near Paris in France.[7]
In April 1976, Carrefour launched a private label Produits libres (free products libre meaning free in the sense of liberty as opposed to gratis)
line of fifty foodstuffs, including oil, biscuits (crackers and cookies), milk, and pasta, sold in unbranded white packages at substantially lower
prices.
In September 2009, Carrefour updated its logo.[8]
In May 2011, Carrefour reviewed its situation under conditions of stagnant growth and increasing competition in France from rivals
including Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA, and planned to invest 1.5 billion ($2.1 billion) to change the supermarket with the new concept of
Carrefour Planet in Western Europe.
In April 2015, Brazilian businessman Ablio Diniz revealed he was in talks to raise his 5.07 percent stake in Carrefour and has the support of
shareholders to take a board seat.[9]

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% (Stych, 2010, p 1-2). 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 (Stych, 2010, p 1-2).
Unlike some other global retail players like Metro (globally the 3rd. largest) which have financially independent global operations, Carrefour's
overseas expansion is driven by funding from the French operations. Compared to the Metro Group, Carrefour's globalisation policy appears
indecisive at the moment. Only time will reveal if the pressure to dispose off its Asian and Latin American businesses proves too hard to resist
(Stych, 2010, p 1-2).
Carrefour is keenly committed to sponsoring local economic development wherever it is operating globally. Typically, in any country that it
operates in, the Carrefour group is the largest private employer. Unsurprisingly, this is true for France, where the group originates from. The same
also applies to countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Greece and Italy. The group also strives to sustain local suppliers, with
approximately 90 to 95% of its products sourced locally and based on the country of operations (Carrefour Group, 2010, p 1-2).

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Marketing Strategy
Place:
Carrefour/Majid al Futtaims 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
Carrefours standard location of a freestanding warehouse-like building.