Last year, France's government agreed a deal with major retailers to cap the price of essential food items, in a bid to ease the impact of inflation on shoppers.
Whether this – or broader market trends – had an impact on the current decrease in food price inflation, which recently slowed for the seventh month in a row, is still to be determined, but either way, the picture is looking somewhat brighter for shoppers, boosted by more promising macroeconomic circumstances and a stable unemployment rate.
To combat high inflation, shoppers are utilising a number of different channels, with e-commerce proving to be particularly popular among French consumers. In addition, the discount channel is also showing signs of acceleration in recent months.
Here's an overview of the top ten supermarket retail chains in France, according to their most recently-available full-year turnover. All data is supplied by Retail-Index.
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1. E.Leclerc
Turnover: €51 billion (2021)
With a turnover of €51 billion in 2021, E.Leclerc is the largest retail chain in France. It has over 1,400 outlets under its various banners, including Brico E.Leclerc, Drive-in, E.Leclerc, L'Auto E.Leclerc, Le Manege a Bijoux E.Leclerc, Optique E.Leclerc, Parapharmacie, Sports et Loisirs, and Une Heure Pour Soi. It has had a presence in France since 1949.
As of October 2023, E.Leclerc accounted for 23.7% of French grocery spend, according to Kantar, seeing a 1.8 percentage point gain in market share – its biggest leap since the middle of 2020.
2. Carrefour
Turnover: €35.28 billion (2021)
With more than 60 years of history under its belt, Carrefour is the second-largest retail chain in France, with a turnover of €35.28 billion as of 2021. It operates 5,773 outlets under various banners, including Carrefour Hypermarket, Carrefour Proximity Super Markets, Carrefour Supermarket, and Promocash.
In October, Carrefour noted that consumers were cutting back on spending as a result of the continued inflationary situation. "In a context of continued pressure on the purchasing power of our customers, our group confirmed the solidity of its commercial momentum and the attractiveness of its model," commented CEO Alexandre Bompard.
3. Les Mousquetaires
Turnover: €36.06 billion (2022)
Les Mousquetaires is the third-largest retail chain in France, with a turnover of €36.06 billion in 2022. It operates under the Intermarché and Netto banners and has 2,200 outlets. Les Mousquetaires also has a presence in Belgium, Portugal and Poland.
In August, Les Mousquetaires boss Thierry Cotillard said that he expected consumer prices to remain high until March 2024, although drops in the price of raw materials did indicate that some relief was on the horizon for both the retailer and its customers.
4. Système U
Turnover: €22.97 billion (2021)
With a history dating back to the late 19th century, Système U reported a turnover of €22.97 billion in 2021, and operates under various banners, including Hyper U, Marché U, Super U, U express, and UTile. It has 1,640 outlets.
5. Auchan
Turnover: €16.2 billion (2021)
Auchan had a turnover of €16.2 billion in 2021 and operates under various banners, including Auchan Hypermarket, Auchan Supermarkets, AuchanDrive and chronodrive, My Auchan, and Oney (Auchan). It has 588 outlets, as of last year.
Earlier this year, Auchan announced plans to sell a number of its French stores to franchisees, a new approach to its store operating model that it plans to accelerate in the coming years.
6. Casino
Turnover: €14.03 billion (2021)
Groupe Casino reported turnover of €14.03 billion in France in 2021. It has 5,705 outlets under various banners, including Casino Proximité, Casino Supermarchés, Cdiscount, Franprix, Géant Casino, Le Petit Casino, Monop', Monoprix, Naturalia, Sherpa Supermarche, SPAR, and Vival.
In October, Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky led a team of creditors in finalising a binding lock-up agreement to restructure Casino's debt, after the retailer was brought to the edge of default. A number of store offloads are planned as part of the restructuring process.
7. Lidl
Turnover: €14 billion (2021 – estimated)
Part of Germany's Schwarz Group, Lidl boasts 1,630 outlets in France as of 2022. While its exact sales figures aren't known, sales in France are estimated at €14 billion for 2021. It has had a presence in the country since 1988.
During the summer, Lidl expressed its interest in acquiring a tranche of the Casino and Monoprix stores likely to be offloaded as part of the latter's restructuring process.
8. Cora
Turnover: €5.09 billion (2021)
Cora reported a turnover of €5.09 billion in 2021 and operates under various banners, including Cora and Match. It has 176 outlets (as of last year). The first Cora hypermarket opened in France in 1969.
Earlier this year, Carrefour announced it was to acquire the Cora and Match banners from owner Louis Delhaize Group, with the transaction set to close in the summer of 2024.
9. Metro
Turnover: €3.75 billion (2021 – estimated)
Wholesale group Metro reported an estimated turnover of €3.75 billion in 2021, and has 99 cash-and-carry outlets across the country. Part of Germany's Metro AG, it has had a presence in the country for more than 50 years, opening its first outlet in 1971.
Read More: 10 Ways In Which Metro AG Is Redefining The Wholesale Sector
10. Aldi
Turnover: €3.3 billion (2020 – estimated)
Rounding off the top ten, Aldi France, a subsidiary of Aldi Nord in Germany, reported an estimated turnover of €3.3 billion in 2020, and has 1,388 outlets as of last year.
A report in April of this year indicated that the discount channel was the fastest-growing in France, with Aldi leading the charge, increasing its market share to 3.0%, a 0.2 percentage point gain.
A number of notable retailers fall outside the top ten, and are also worth mentioning. Picard Surgelés is a frozen food specialist that has over 1000 stores across France, while SPAR has 898 outlets across the country. There are also several notable retailers that specialise in organic and natural products, including Biocoop (781 outlets), Naturalia, Comptoirs de la Bio (102 outlets) and Bio c' Bon (95 outlets). Finally, there are several smaller chains such as G20, Colruyt, and Norma.
About Retail-Index
Retail-Index is a specialist supplier of management information on consumer retail markets, provided by Veraart Research Group in the Netherlands. Its mission is to supply managers with up-to-date key information on retail markets in Europe and support them in their international expansion.
The company dates back to 1964, when it started as a market research and marketing consulting company for consumer products and services. In 1989, it started publishing written reports on various retail sectors in Europe. As of 2005, it publishes its information on retailers through the online database and curated datasheet exports available on www.retail-index.com. A team of researchers manages the data to reflect upon current developments in the markets, collected from an extensive number of sources.
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© 2023 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
