At Groupe Casino, the mantra at the moment seems to be 'change is as good as a rest', with many of the company's French banners undergoing fundamental changes that are contributing to promising sales growth.
The retailer has just published full year sales figures that indicate a business in relatively good health, with full year sales up 2.4% on a same store basis to €37.8 billion. Fourth quarter sales were up 2.0% to €10 billion.
In the group's core France Retail market, which accounts for roughly half the group's sales, same store sales were up marginally (0.3%), with food sales up 1.3%.
Such growth may not seem like much, but coming as it does just two years on from short sell analyst MuddyWaters declaring that the French operator's core business was 'sharply deteriorating' (claims Casino refuted), it's a progressive step, particularly given the competition in the French marketplace.
Casino currently holds 11.4% of the French market, according to the latest market share figures from Kantar Worldpanel, for the period to 10 January.
While others have seen their market share rise and fall by half a percentage or more over the past couple of years (with Carrefour and Leclerc vying for top spot) Casino has maintained a modicum of consistency; its market share is exactly the same as it was this time last year, and just ten basis points down from its position in January 2016.
Make That Change
Some of the most important changes underway at Casino have been driven by necessity.
At its Géant hypermarket business, poor non-food performances in recent years have driven the need to reduce non-food retail space, which, as of Q4 2017, is down 0.6% compared to the same period last year and 6.8% compared to 2011. Tie-ups with its online CDiscount business and a major Black Friday promotion have helped to lift sales of white goods marginally, but the overall trend is unyielding.
Casino is taking this to heart, and substituting additional food categories for non-food - additional fresh service counters have been rolled out to Géant stores, and its organic range is booming - posting double digit growth in 2017, and 'accelerating towards the end of the year', In addition, Géant has seen 'Drive' sales rise by 10% over the past year.
Aside from hypermarkets, a host of fundamental changes have been taking place at the group's Franprix banner, which posted the best organic growth of any segment of its France Retail division in Q4, of 2.7% (same-store growth was up 0.5%).
Following the rollout of Franprix Mandarine two years ago, a convenience store concept built around fresh snacking and 'on-the-go' dining, it continues to tweak with the formula, introducing Franprix Mandarine Vitaminée - which featured an enhanced range of fresh counters and organic produce, aimed at urban shoppers 'looking for more practical services' - in 2017 and following this up with the launch of Franprix Noé (pictured), for proximity shoppers looking to purchase in a 'more responsible manner.
In addition, Franprix's mobile app, which enables its customers to engage with in-store services, was named “e-commerce app of the year” by trade magazine LSA.
At Leader Price, too, the group has rolled out what it calls the 'Next' retail concept in newly-refurbished stores,. With 'Next', the banner is seeking to raise customer expectations around areas such as bakery and organic, while also maintaining the discount pricing model the retailer has become famous for. Leader Price same-store sales grew +0.2% in full-year 2017 and +0.3% in Q4.
Embracing Ocado
By far the biggest change, however, is that which is set to be introduced at Monoprix, which posted a 1.2% increase in sales in Q4.
In November, online-only retailer Ocado announced that it would be developing a Customer Fulfilment Centre (CFC) to serve Monoprix's operations in the Greater Paris area, the Normandie and Hauts de France Regions, a process which is expected to take around two years.
In what is a first for Ocado with an international retailer, both parties have also added that they will ‘consider’ other CFCs close to large urban areas.
This launch, which will be powered by Monoprix's online portal, monoprix.fr, is likely to lead to a significant improvement in online grocery services for the banner, and potentially for the capital as a whole.
Far from being a 'sharply deteriorating' force, Groupe Casino is positioning itself strongly for the future in what remains a deeply competitive market.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
