Carrefour sales stabilize in France as growth continues in Latin America
French retail giant Carrefour has reported stabilizing sales in France in its second quarter while sales in Latin America have continued to grow.
The company’s total sales increased by 1.4% in the period with revenue edging down 0.6% to €20.46 billion, which was slightly ahead of expectations.
In France, sales fell by a less-than-expected 0.2% to €9.65 billion. In the Rest of Europe, sales were sluggish, dropping by 4.1% to €5.24 billion.
In a statement, Carrefour said its European sales were affected by “unfavourable weather conditions, which came on top of the adverse impact on consumption of the economic environment”.
Carrefour added that although conditions in Southern Europe remained difficult it had seen continued growth in Latin America, and a resumption of growth in China.
In Latin America, sales rose 1.2% on a reported basis to €3.88 billion but climbed 12% on a constant-currency basis (excluding fuel).
Asia posted a 4.3% increase in reported sales to €1.69 billion.
Since the appointment of Georges Plassat as chief executive last year, Carrefour has undertaken a major restructure as it looks to turnaround its core hypermarket business.
Commenting on the results, Gildas Aitamer, retail analyst at Planet Retail, said: “As anticipated, Carrefour’s recovery in its home market remains difficult in light of a challenging price-focused competitive environment, alongside an unfavorable economic climate that has taken its toll on non-food sales.
“Even so, we remain confident that Carrefour’s efforts towards consistency, rationalisation of processes and appointment of expertise in key posts will eventually enable the retailer to get back on track. It will, however, lose its crown as France’s largest retailer earlier than expected, but better to be a relatively healthy number two in the market than an ailing number one.”
