CarreFour Brand: History And Future Plans

Categories: Future

In the year 1960, CarreFour opened the first store, inside rural Annecy close to a junction. Carrefour in French simply meant crossroads. Three principals created the Carrefour stores group which was in 1958. The three principals that were behind the creation of the Carrefour stores were Jacques Defforey, Marcel Fournier, and Denis Defforey. What drove them to create the stores was their constant attendance of seminars in the United States of America, which was which mostly presided by Bernardo Trujillo who was considered as "the pope of retail.

" In Europe, the first hyper market, a department store and a big supermarket to be opened under one roof were courtesy of the Carrefour group. The first hypermarket which was opened in the mid-June in the year 1963 was situated in Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois; a city that was not far away from the capital city of France Paris.

In the year 1976, the group ventured in free products attaining a private label in dealing with foodstuffs.eg biscuits, milk, oil and even sodas selling them at subsidized prices.

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After 22years Carrefour merged with one of its top competitors in France known as Promodes then, now known as Continent. Carrefour in late 1999 had an update on its logo. The economy in France was changing due to increased competition from its rivals and also Carrefour faced a stagnant growth. From these conditions, the group decided to introduce a new concept in the supermarket of Carrefour planet and invested around $2 billion to conceptualize the whole idea. Early 2015, Alexandre Bompard currently sits on the Board of Directors as the CEO of Carrefour group a contract that will commence on the 18TH July 2017 (Hurt, 2002 pg 78).

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Carrefour Ethics and Social Responsibility

Ethics and Social responsibility are how a company takes care of its workers, ways or how it gives back to the society and also being environmental, financially and socially responsible.

Carrefour has taken upon itself to be the first supermarkets to review its employee’s salary. Carrefour as a company group doing business globally has made sure that the company pays its employees attracting salaries. A senior manager gets to earn an average salary of $122,000; a normal manager receives an average of $58,000 while junior manages $45,000. I n comparison to the general France average salary of the whole population which is $58,000 then Carrefour happens to be really close in making its employees the best paid. Carrefour also gets to take upon itself to add bonuses to its employees. This makes the employees motivated leading to them getting motivated and their dedication leads to the success of Carrefour. Another responsibility that has led to Carrefour being a globally established and recognized group is the highly trained employees. The initiative by the group to look after its workers when it comes to their service has made it successful. Training brings about motivation and mentorship resulting to attractiveness to employees. The group also offers good working conditions to its employees as stated in the Carrefour ethics and social charter where it vows to provide its workers a health and safety working conditions.

Also, Carrefour has taken upon itself to abide by the rules and laws whereby it protects the human rights. The group has made a pledge to regard, and guarantee that others regard, human rights all through its store network. This includes checking regard for the center standards of the ILO and requires exclusive expectations of straightforwardness and moral lead, both of which are vital to its procedure. The approach applies to all Carrefour item providers. The dedication is communicated through the foundation of a following and checking approach and an association with the FIDH (global organization for human rights). By this Carrefour establishes a good relationship with bodies of any state creating state responsibility.

The Carrefour corporate obligation and responsibility goes across the board into regions of morals, legalities, and directions. It likewise affects the economy and nature. Monetary obligations allude to a business' emphasis on delivering merchandise and enterprises for buyers. Carrefour main intention is to make profits. Such benefits ought to be made by following essential tenets of society, which incorporate moral and lawful contemplations. The group takes upon itself to be fair to its workers, abide by state laws, and provide quality goods and services without compromising the expected standards (Sousa, 2010 pg 294-309).

Carrefour has also given back to the society in various ways. Carrefour has a foundation named after the group, The Carrefour Foundation. The foundation is responsible for making food donations after it takes surveys and polls. Carrefour also goes into partner ships with other companies to facilitate the progression of major projects. A good example is where by it partnered with the "wake up café" to rehabilitate offenders. By doing this the group fulfills its social responsibility without expecting anything in return from the community. The giving back of companies to the society represents a token of gratitude for the outstanding expansion of the business normally.

Leadership in Carrefour

The leadership ladder in the Carrefour group is one structured hierarchy. The leader ship which is functional is as a planned progress by the group. At the top, we have the C.E.O who is the most astounding character of power. Under him, we have the Finance Chief Officer in the progressive system. The Promotion and Marketing Director follows the well-aligned structure. Systems and Planning Director, falls in his place concluding the panel of Directors in the board room. Under every director are representative directors who are under every department in the board room who is the image of power in their respective branches. In every state where the Carrefour has a branch, the executive manager gets to be outstanding in their zone of control.

The leadership hierarchy of Carrefour works for the best of the well-expanded business by ensuring that the expansive enterprise works accordingly to the expected module and expectations of the Board Members. The different departments of authority must co operate in order to make the chain of command reliable in every way possible. The different divisions in the hierarchy have the mandate to blend in well with each other so as to make the executions of every department assessable. The efficient system of leadership makes it transparent and thus noting a hitch is easy; these limit the disarrays and covering obligations (Nwagbara, 2010 pg 56-79).

Carrefour SWOT Analysis / Global Competition

Strengths

In terms of size, Carrefour is the largest hypermarket chain. In the retail industry, Carrefour generates revenue that is only second to that of Walmart. The retail company generates huge amounts of capital and is positioned three after Tesco and Walmart. Carrefour has extended its corporate tentacles to over 31 countries making it a retail giant in the world. Carrefour has taken upon itself to venture around various countries all over the world. Carrefour has invested much into grocery stores, hypermarkets accompanying their extensive networks of discounts. Carrefour was the first hypermarket in France. They sell a variety of their own branded products having their logo on them. The retail giant has promoted its brand making it amongst the popular and strong brands. Carrefour has a strong backing from France where more than half of their sales are from France. The retail industry boasts of having maintenance of high quality resulting in its prosperity.

Weaknesses

Carrefour has reduced the expenses when it comes to its operation. The retail group presence in Asia and the Middle East is a miss making it economic impact absent. The group is not active in the sale online platforms meaning the e-commerce channels are not fully unutilized. The group takes too much time to venture into new markets and also open new stores. Carrefour has very weak labor relations making it a weak retail group gradually and obscuring it from leading as a retail group. The image of the group has recently diluted following negative coverage by the media after happenings recently especially the Japanese happenings (Babu, 2012 pg 55-65).

Opportunities

Carrefour expansion as a result of the acquisition and amalgamated ventures should be a priority. The group should expand the discount stores and see their development restored. The retail giant should seek to improve the performance sales. Research should be prioritized and the requirement of development is necessary especially in promotions which are related to the marketing. This enables in fathoming of the ever changing retail industry. Upon itself, it should rectify and build labor bonds and relations. Restoration of a good image is vital thus get positive media coverage.

Threats

Carrefour faces competition which is fierce from other retail industries e.g. Tesco and Walmart. The extremely subsidized prices of Walmart are threatening to Carrefour. In few parts of Asia and Africa, terrorism and security instabilities pose threat to the retail group. New entrants are invading the retail industry making it hard to dominate. Fathoming the dynamism in the Middle East and Asia has proven to be a hard task for Carrefour group. The slow paced expansion of the retail group outside France has led to the creation and progress of other retail industries. The slowdown in the economy and the heightened cost of labor has led to increased cost for Carrefour.

Marketing Strategy of Carrefour

Carrefour well-established market still remains to be France. Having lost its much-anticipated glory to rivals the main strategy of the Carrefour group remains to reclaim the lost glory in France. How is Carrefour reclaiming this? With the direct aim of producing substantial growth in France, the group changes have altered for the better through redefining and redeveloping the multi-format in their models. In the hard discounts formats, fresh momentum is provided thus convergence upraise. The building of its image has been vital both inside and outside France to create a large loyal customer base which has seen them gain popularity making them one of the biggest retail industries in the world. A reconsideration plea within the board room has become a strategy which has seen them reviewing their prices subsidized after massive competition making Carrefour a reliable company internationally. Suitable measures have been taken in countries like Spain and Belgium which have become a priority to the Carrefour group in terms of sales. The measures adopted promote growth and also performance improved (Salmon, 2002 pg 84-99).

Carrefour has priorities in strategies and its third is to focus its resources in countries that have huge potential in terms of growth. The strategy aims to grow with the markets and it’s a move is supposed to be future considerate. Carrefour globalization has been a journey that has made it possible to acquire and assimilate strategies that help market itself into the retail industry. The group has branded itself making it outstanding. This has made it possible for the group to take part in acquisitions and take-over along the growth journey since 1990. Another marketing strategy that has seen the group succeed is the appreciation of the customers from different backgrounds with different cultures. The consumer behaviors changes depending on different countries and with a considerate PESTLE frame work then Carrefour adjustments have made it possible for them to conquer every market. Evaluations of the targeted market have made it possible for the group to prosper. The move makes it sure it directs its resources where profits are to be experienced as it’s the main agenda of any business.

Carrefour Promotion Techniques

Carrefour has used major techniques that attract customers in every country they are situated. The group introduced an iBeacon deployment. The promotion technique was the first to be experienced by any hypermarket. The unique way presented fun to their customers. Social media has been a platform where the group has utilized when it comes to its promotion. The direct marketing strategy is inevitable, especially in this age. Product giveaways are also techniques the group uses in its retailing process. These give a sampling chance to potential customers of the products they anticipate to bargain. End-cap marketing techniques have revolutionized the business in grocery stores. The groceries move fast and the promotion way has helped the group when overcome losses experienced before. Charity and giving back to the society has been a clever move when it comes to pushing for their products. The image created through causes and charity helps create a sense of belonging and association with the retail group. The group has awarded its customers with branded promotional gifts which create memories and a worthwhile experience inciting the customer to repeatedly shop in the group stores. The conducting of after sales survey has been a sale promotional strategy the company invests in. The dire need to leave the customer satisfied has pushed them to this extent. Advertisement as a tool of promotion has helped the group push its services and products to the general public wherever they are situated at (Dupuis, 1996 pg 30-38).

Carrefour products and services

  • food and non-food products
  • vehicle hire services
  • pharmacies and health/beauty care products and services
  • fuel oil products and delivery services
  • leisure services
  • Banking and Insurance services

The future of Carrefour

The future of Carrefour relies heavily on its market connections in different states. The group intends to spread its economic tentacles to more than 45 countries as written in their goal visions which should be by the year 2030. In Asia and the Middle East, the retail group plans to invade the market and open up stores that should enable Carrefour to regain the confidence that was lost after closing the stores due to unavoidable circumstances; one of them being the diverse complicated cultural back ground which resulted in loss of funds. Creating a loyal customer base is their goal which means the company should attend to more customers than they are. The group has an ambition of becoming the leading retailer industry wherever it goes and to satisfy their valued customer needs (Burt, 2008, pg 78-92).

Updated: Feb 22, 2024
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CarreFour Brand: History And Future Plans. (2024, Feb 22). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/carrefour-brand-history-and-future-plans-essay

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