Carrefour turns 10
The first Carrefour hypermarket in Poland opened in Łód in November 1997. Today the French company has a total of 125 stores (42 hypermarkets and 83 Globi, Champion and Carrefour Express supermarkets) in the country.
The acquisition of other retail companies has always played a significant role in enlarging and strengthening the company's position in Poland. In 2000, Carrefour took over the Champion and Globi supermarket chains and, at the beginning of 2005, it acquired 12 Hypernova hypermarkets. Carrefour's most recent purchase, of Ahold's Albert supermarket chain, was announced in December 2006 and is still waiting for approval from Poland's anti-monopoly office.
In 2006, the company invested over zł.578 million into new projects and developing its stores. Its turnover reached zł.5.28 billion. Alain Souillard, the president of Carrefour Polska, said the company has taken over enough for the moment. "We will not be looking for opportunities to acquire any other chain," he said.
However, Carrefour Polska is still searching for opportunities to develop and has introduced several new, smaller shop formats. These include Carrefour Express and so-called "small hypermarkets" that will be located in towns with populations of over 25,000.
The company also wants to develop its idea of providing financial services to customers. Besides loans, the company is considering credit-card services. "In addition to this, we are also looking at insurance services which could be something that we will offer our clients in the future," says Souillard.
With 24 of its own gas stations, Carrefour plans to supply its products to other gas stations in Poland. According to Souillard, negotiations with several petrol companies have already begun, one of which is BP.
One way that Carrefour wants to finance these new plans is through the sale and leaseback of some of its real estate. Last week Carrefour Polska sold four of its supermarkets and shopping malls in Warsaw, Toruń, Łód and Kraków to Atrium Properties FGG. Reportedly, the transaction was worth several hundred million euro.
