French retailer Carrefour, which recently announced a strategic partnership with Apparel Group to enter India, plans to open 50 stores in northern India over the next five years, according to Patrick Lasfargues,͏͏ executive͏͏ director͏͏ of͏͏ international͏͏ partnerships͏͏ at͏͏ Carrefour.
Initial͏͏ Launch͏͏ in͏͏ Delhi/NCR:
During͏͏ the͏͏ first͏͏ phase,͏͏ set͏͏ for͏͏ summer͏͏ 2025͏͏ to͏͏ summer͏͏ 2026,͏͏ the͏͏ company͏͏ plans͏͏ to͏͏ launch͏͏ its͏͏ initial͏͏ five͏͏ stores͏͏ in͏͏ the͏͏ Delhi/NCR͏͏ area.
“India͏͏ is͏͏ experiencing͏͏ significant͏͏ economic͏͏ growth,͏͏ with͏͏ improvements͏͏ in͏͏ GDP͏͏ and͏͏ per͏͏ capita͏͏ income,͏͏ while͏͏ the͏͏ middle͏͏ class͏͏ is͏͏ becoming͏͏ increasingly͏͏ aspirational.͏͏ This͏͏ creates͏͏ an͏͏ ideal͏͏ strategic͏͏ framework͏͏ for͏͏ our͏͏ expansion͏͏ in͏͏ India.͏͏ We͏͏ are͏͏ very͏͏ optimistic͏͏ about͏͏ the͏͏ Indian͏͏ market͏͏ this͏͏ time,”͏͏ he͏͏ stated.
Continue͏͏ Exploring:͏͏ French retailer Carrefour to͏͏ re-enter͏͏ India͏͏ with͏͏ franchise͏͏ partnership͏͏ with͏͏ Apparel͏͏ Group
“We͏͏ left͏͏ India͏͏ in͏͏ 2014͏͏ because͏͏ the͏͏ group’s͏͏ focus͏͏ was͏͏ not͏͏ optimal,͏͏ given͏͏ its͏͏ operations͏͏ in͏͏ multiple͏͏ countries.͏͏ The͏͏ group͏͏ had͏͏ to͏͏ reevaluate͏͏ its͏͏ strategy,͏͏ and͏͏ at͏͏ that͏͏ point,͏͏ we͏͏ seemed͏͏ to͏͏ lack͏͏ the͏͏ patience͏͏ to͏͏ persist͏͏ in͏͏ the͏͏ market.͏͏ Furthermore,͏͏ India͏͏ was͏͏ a͏͏ particularly͏͏ complex͏͏ environment,”͏͏ he͏͏ added.
Embracing͏͏ a͏͏ B2C͏͏ Strategy:
Rather͏͏ than͏͏ adopting͏͏ a͏͏ cash-and-carry͏͏ format,͏͏ the͏͏ company͏͏ is͏͏ pursuing͏͏ a͏͏ B2C͏͏ strategy͏͏ this͏͏ time.͏͏ It͏͏ plans͏͏ to͏͏ launch͏͏ its͏͏ stores͏͏ in͏͏ three͏͏ different͏͏ formats:͏͏ supermarkets͏͏ covering͏͏ 8,000͏͏ sq.͏͏ ft.,͏͏ hypermarkets͏͏ covering͏͏ 30,000͏͏ sq.͏͏ ft.,͏͏ and͏͏ gourmet͏͏ stores͏͏ also͏͏ spanning͏͏ 8,000͏͏ sq.͏͏ ft.
“Carrefour,͏͏ in͏͏ partnership͏͏ with͏͏ Apparel͏͏ Group,͏͏ will͏͏ establish͏͏ a͏͏ team͏͏ of͏͏ experts͏͏ in͏͏ operations,͏͏ supply͏͏ chain,͏͏ private͏͏ label,͏͏ and͏͏ e-commerce͏͏ specifically͏͏ for͏͏ the͏͏ Indian͏͏ market,”͏͏ he͏͏ asserted.
In͏͏ addition͏͏ to͏͏ fresh͏͏ produce͏͏ and͏͏ food͏͏ and͏͏ grocery͏͏ items,͏͏ it͏͏ will͏͏ also͏͏ offer͏͏ non-food͏͏ products.
“In͏͏ India,͏͏ our͏͏ primary͏͏ focus͏͏ will͏͏ be͏͏ on͏͏ food,͏͏ with͏͏ non-food͏͏ items͏͏ constituting͏͏ a͏͏ smaller͏͏ portion,”͏͏ he͏͏ said.
When͏͏ asked͏͏ about͏͏ the͏͏ location͏͏ strategy,͏͏ he͏͏ stated,͏͏ “We͏͏ will͏͏ be͏͏ opening͏͏ stores͏͏ in͏͏ both͏͏ high͏͏ streets͏͏ and͏͏ malls.”
The͏͏ group͏͏ has͏͏ been͏͏ sourcing͏͏ non-food͏͏ products,͏͏ such͏͏ as͏͏ textiles,͏͏ in͏͏ India͏͏ for͏͏ a͏͏ considerable͏͏ time͏͏ and͏͏ will͏͏ soon͏͏ begin͏͏ planning͏͏ to͏͏ source͏͏ food͏͏ products͏͏ from͏͏ the͏͏ country.
“We͏͏ will͏͏ provide͏͏ the͏͏ highest͏͏ quality͏͏ products͏͏ at͏͏ the͏͏ most͏͏ affordable͏͏ prices,͏͏ thanks͏͏ to͏͏ our͏͏ strong͏͏ relationships͏͏ with͏͏ manufacturers͏͏ and͏͏ suppliers͏͏ worldwide,”͏͏ he͏͏ said.
The͏͏ company͏͏ is͏͏ also͏͏ looking͏͏ to͏͏ launch͏͏ its͏͏ private͏͏ labels͏͏ in͏͏ India.͏͏ While͏͏ he͏͏ did͏͏ not͏͏ disclose͏͏ the͏͏ exact͏͏ percentage͏͏ of͏͏ private͏͏ labels͏͏ in͏͏ relation͏͏ to͏͏ total͏͏ offerings,͏͏ he͏͏ noted,͏͏ “Currently,͏͏ in͏͏ France,͏͏ private͏͏ labels͏͏ represent͏͏ 37͏͏ percent͏͏ of͏͏ our͏͏ turnover,͏͏ indicating͏͏ significant͏͏ potential.”
It͏͏ will͏͏ soon͏͏ commence͏͏ its͏͏ online͏͏ operations͏͏ in͏͏ India,͏͏ aiming͏͏ to͏͏ establish͏͏ an͏͏ omnichannel͏͏ presence.
Future͏͏ Expansion͏͏ in͏͏ Tier͏͏ II͏͏ Cities:
“In͏͏ addition͏͏ to͏͏ our͏͏ online͏͏ presence,͏͏ we͏͏ also͏͏ plan͏͏ to͏͏ open͏͏ stores͏͏ in͏͏ tier͏͏ II͏͏ cities͏͏ and͏͏ beyond,”͏͏ he͏͏ asserted.
Currently,͏͏ Carrefour͏͏ operates͏͏ over͏͏ 14,000͏͏ stores͏͏ across͏͏ 40͏͏ countries.
Apparel͏͏ Group͏͏ has͏͏ a͏͏ presence͏͏ in͏͏ over͏͏ 2,300͏͏ retail͏͏ stores,͏͏ featuring͏͏ more͏͏ than͏͏ 85͏͏ brands͏͏ across͏͏ countries͏͏ such͏͏ as͏͏ the͏͏ UAE,͏͏ India,͏͏ South͏͏ Africa,͏͏ Singapore,͏͏ Indonesia,͏͏ Thailand,͏͏ Malaysia,͏͏ and͏͏ Egypt.͏͏ It͏͏ is͏͏ also͏͏ planning͏͏ to͏͏ expand͏͏ into͏͏ Hungary͏͏ and͏͏ the͏͏ Philippines͏͏ soon.
