French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to hold snap parliamentary elections this year carried significant risk, and while the left-wing alliance, the New Popular Front, emerged victorious in the second round, the outcome has not alleviated concerns about potential political instability, including the prospect of a hung parliament.
In July, economist Philippe Ledent of ING pointed out that the situation presents two "opposing realities" for France. On one hand, political parties struggle to make necessary concessions; on the other, the country faces pressing socio-economic challenges that require broad-based reforms. Failure to navigate these complexities could result in ongoing instability, which may unsettle financial markets.
Consumer behaviour in France has been markedly altered over the past year. A Kantar study indicated a continued decline in grocery volume sales, with a 3.0% drop in the first quarter of 2024.
Meanwhile, spending has increased by 2.2%, driven by higher product prices compared to 2021, despite inflation stabilising. This shift has resulted in diminished purchasing power and a decreased willingness to spend.
Sales of fresh produce have been particularly impacted, declining by 3.4% across all distribution channels, reflecting broader consumer trends. Cheese, meat, fish, and cold cuts have become "variable" purchases as consumers adjust to rising prices.
Additionally, a survey by BVA for E. Leclerc's New Consumption Observatory revealed that 81% of French families are concerned about their financial stability, with inflation, health issues, climate change, and the Ukraine conflict cited as significant stressors. In response, many households are adapting by cutting back on energy expenses (53%), travel (50%), food (49%), and leisure activities (49%).
As of June 2024, consumer prices in France were 2.2% higher compared to the previous year, with food prices specifically increasing by 0.8% annually. The month-on-month inflation rate showed a modest rise of 0.1%.
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: €48 billion (2023)
With a turnover of €48 billion in 2023, E.Leclerc is the largest retail chain in France. It has over 1,400 outlets under its various banners, including E.Leclerc, Drive-in, 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.
E.Leclerc has been a consistently strong performer in the French market in recent months, seeing a 0.3 percentage point increase in market share in May 2024 to hold 24.1% of the market, according to Kantar.
2. Carrefour
Turnover: €37.7 billion (2022)
With more than 60 years of history under its belt, Carrefour is the second-largest retail chain in France, with a turnover of €37.7 billion as of 2022. It operates 5,773 outlets under various banners, including Carrefour Hypermarket, Carrefour Proximity Super Markets, Carrefour Supermarket, and Promocash.
In March, it was reported that Carrefour saw the biggest increase in private-label sales in France during 2023.
3. Les Mousquetaires
Turnover: €36.055 billion (2022)
Les Mousquetaires is the third-largest retail chain in France, with a turnover of €36.055 billion as of 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.
Earlier this year, Les Mousquetaires and Auchan Retail signed an agreement with Casino for the takeover of 288 supermarkets and hypermarkets in France.
4. Système U
Turnover: €23.9 billion (2022)
With a history dating back to the late 19th century, Système U reported a turnover of €23.9 billion in 2022, and operates under various banners, including Hyper U, Marché U, Super U, U express, and UTile. It has 1,640 outlets as of this year.
Système U, which is the fourth largest grocer in the French market, held a market share of 11.8% as of year-end, a 0.2 percentage point increase on the previous year.
5. Auchan
Turnover: €17.3 billion (2022)
Auchan had a turnover of €17.3 billion in 2022 and operates under various banners, including Auchan Hypermarket, Auchan Supermarkets, AuchanDrive and chronodrive, My Auchan, and Oney (Auchan). It has 588 outlets as of 2024.
Last December, Auchan and Intermarché entered talks to form a joint purchasing alliance, which will would cover the purchase of food products from national brands as well as the purchase of non-food products.
6. Casino
Turnover: €15 billion (2022 – estimated)
Groupe Casino reported turnover of €15 billion in France in 2022. 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 April, Casino said it would lay off up to 3,267 employees as part of a major restructuring effort to improve its financial situation as it aims to become France's leading convenience store retailer.
7. Lidl
Turnover: €15 billion (2022)
Part of Germany's Schwarz Group, Lidl boasts 1,630 outlets in France as of 2024.
Lidl has had a presence in France since 1988.
Earlier this year, Lidl renewed its partnership with Food Banks, the largest food aid network in France, for the eleventh consecutive year.
8. Cora
Turnover: €5.15 billion (2022)
Cora reported a turnover of €5.15 billion in 2022 and operates under various banners, including Cora and Match. It has 176 outlets (as of 2024). The first Cora hypermarket opened in France in 1969.
Cora is run as a decentralized family business which encourages its teams to adapt their stores to the needs of the local market.
9. Metro
Turnover: €3.9 billion (2022 – estimated)
Wholesale group Metro reported an estimated turnover of €3.9 billion in 2022, 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.
In April, Metro France opened its first delivery depot in Paris, which aims to be a starting point for the development of an efficient nationwide logistics network. "In this way, we will significantly strengthen the FSD (Food Service Distribution) capacities of Metro France in order to achieve the FSD sales target of €1.6 billion by 2030," commented Pascal Peltier, CEO of Metro France.
10. Aldi
Turnover: €3.3 billion (2022)
Rounding off the top ten, Aldi France, a subsidiary of Aldi Nord in Germany, reported a turnover of €3.3 billion in 2022, and has 1,388 outlets as of last year.
Aldi has had a presence in France since 1988.
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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