Summary of our market study
The French food retail market is worth around 180 billion euros.
The global food retail market, estimated at $11,324.4 billion in 2021, is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3% between 2022 and 2030.
Dominated by US companies, led by Walmart, the market is led by three major US retailers, while the German Schwarz Group, which includes Lidl, ranks fourth worldwide.
In France, the food retail market is dominated by five key players: E.Leclerc, Carrefour, Les Mousquetaires, Système U and Auchan, which together will have a market share of almost 60% by 2023.
Recent years have also seen an increase in the market share of discounters such as Lidl and Aldi.
Rapid transformation of the French food retail market
In France, supermarkets are mostly visited on a weekly basis.
Around 20% of French consumers who shop in chain stores buy own-brand products.
The high inflation rate of 5.2% in 2022, before a slight drop in 2023, has influenced the behavior of French shoppers, and chain sales are falling or stagnating. The market is undergoing a period of concentration. Casino hypermarkets have been taken over by Intermarché and Auchan.
There has been an increase in the number of convenience stores, as their smaller size makes them easier to set up than large hypermarkets.
Hypermarkets continue to dominate in terms of sales area. Integrated chains are increasingly adopting the affiliation system and transferring their stores to independent operators.
Automatic checkouts are becoming increasingly common in stores.
Women account for 58% of store staff
Private labels are recording steady year-on-year volume growth, while national brands are in decline.
This trend is accompanied by a drop in demand for organic products due to their high price. Sales of organic items surged between 2017 and 2020, but have since slowed.
Dominant forces in food retailing
Independent groups
- E.Leclerc, French market leader
- Intermarché Les Mousquetaires: supermarkets and hypermarkets
- Système U: Super U and Hyper U.
Integrated chains
- Auchan and its convenience stores
- Carrefour, Hyper, Super and convenience stores
- Casino, an ailing group that has sold off its Hypermarkets
- Franprix, retailer in Paris, owned by Casino
- Monoprix, upscale retailer
- Lidl and Aldi, fast-growing German supermarket chains
to understand this market
Detailed content of our market study
Inforamtion
- Number of pages : ~ 40 pages
- Format : Digital and PDF versions
- Last update :
Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Definition and presentation
With the pandemic in 2020, the food retail market had undergone significant changes:(e.g. the development of proximity, the boom in organic produce, digitalization of consumer habits). The war in Ukraine then triggered a general widespread price increases which led consumers to change their consumption habits. Food retailers must therefore adapt their strategies to changing consumer expectations. In this study, we'll look at the changing consumer habits of the French.
Food retailing refers to the self-service retailing of food products. The term "supermarket" is used in contrast to the term "small independent retailer" our study will focus on food retail groups and not on small independent food retailers.
Various types of outlet will be studied in the course of the study:
- Hypermarkets
- Supermarkets
- Convenience stores
- Drives
The global supermarket market is dominated by three American players, led by world leader Walmart. This market is growing, with a forecast annual compound growth tannual compound growth rate of 3% from 2022 to 2030.
In France, the supermarket market is an oligopolistic oligopolistic market with few suppliers sharing the bulk of the market. The main food retail groups are E.Leclerc (23.5% MARKET SHARE), Carrefour (19.8% PDM), Les Mousquetaires (Intermarché) (16.1% PDM), Auchan, Groupe U and Casino. SDMP (Supermarché à Dominante Marques Propres), formerly known as hard discounters, such as Lidl and Aldi, which have been gaining market share in recent years. The retail landscape is changing, with the takeover of some stores by others with the takeover of certain stores by other banners (Intermarché and Auchan take over Casino stores; Carrefour acquires Cora and Match)
1.2 A global market dominated by major US retailers
In ****, global sales in the food retail market, including groceries, are estimated at **,***.* billion dollars. This market is expected to grow steadily, with a compound annual growth rate of *% from **** to ****.[***]
Ranking of the largest supermarket groups by sales figures World, ****, in billions of euros Source: ****
In terms of sales, the ...
1.3 A national oligopolistic market
The food retail market is worth around *** billion euros in France. Some **,*** French communes have a food store.
The French market is oligopolistic marketa few major groups share the bulk of the market:
Market shares of food retailers France, **** (***), in % and points Source: ****
E.Leclerc remains the market leader, with market ...
2 Demand analysis
2.1 French household food consumption habits
Food retailing is a market that responds to a primary need primary need need: food. We can therefore say that all individuals are customers in this market, and that demand is strong. However, consumer habits vary and evolve according to customers and economic conditions.
Frequency with which the French visit supermarkets France, ...
2.2 The effects of inflation on French consumer behavior
Inflation rate trend France, ****-****, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, % Source: ****
Inflation will rise sharply in ****, to *.*%. **** was also a year of high inflation, despite a slight decrease compared to ****. This inflation has had a major impact on food prices in supermarkets.
Impact of inflation on French consumer behavior France, ****, %, %, % Source: ****
With the rise in food ...
2.3 Private label consumption up, national brands down
Sales volume growth in FLS CPG France, ****-****, % Source: ****
Price rises seem to have had a positive impact on private labels, which are enjoying volume performance year-on-year. National brands only posted negative trends. Over P** ****, in July ****, the gap between private labels and national brands is greater than over all previous ...
2.4 Declining demand for organic products
As explained above, inflation has had an impact on French consumer habits, with a decline in the consumption of certain products and a move downmarket in the range of products purchased. These changes in consumption have had an impact on sales of organic products.
According to the barometer of organic products ...
3 Market structure
3.1 Value chain
In the value chain,
The producer supplies raw materials after negotiating purchasing conditions with the wholesaler or central purchasing agency, while complying with strict standards defined in specifications. The wholesaler, where applicable, takes delivery of the producer's goods, negotiates with the chain's buying groups, and delivers to the warehouses. The buying ...
3.2 Number of companies and number of employees
Number of supermarket food stores :
Number of food stores by format France, ****, by value Source: ****
As the graph shows, the majority of our stores are convenience stores stores in France. What's more, the hypermarket format is the least represented in France.
However, the hypermarket is much larger in terms of sales ...
3.3 Acquisitions that are changing the landscape of French retailing
Over the past few months, the structure of the food retail market has undergone major changes, with the takeover of certain stores by different banners: Intermarché and Auchan are set to acquire former Casino stores, while Carrefour is set to acquire the Cora and Match banners in France.
Acquisition of Casino ...
4 Offer analysis
4.1 Offer typology
Customers can choose from a wide range of products, which can be classified under different brands and product ranges.
Different brand forms :
Different product ranges:
We can also classify assortment products under different product ranges:
Classic products Premium products Organic and plant-based products Local, original products
4.2 Rationalization of assortment
Impacted by inflation and changing consumer habits, retailers are taking strategic strategic decisions in the management of their departments. They opt for reducing the number of references in their stores. The aim is to boost economic efficiency, while meeting the expectations of consumers who are now ready to sacrifice diversity for ...
4.3 Significant digitalization of our offering
The mass retail sector is undergoing massive digitalization, which began a decade ago but was accelerated by the Covid crisis and various confinements. E-commerce, drive and delivery services, click and collect illustrate the significant digitalization of the retail sector.
The Covid-** crisis highlighted the need to develop omnichannel omnichannel strategies to ...
5 Regulations
5.1 Law of November 17, 2023 to regulate commercial negotiations
Every year, commercial negotiations take place between manufacturers and distributors. The aim of these negotiations is to dhe aim of these negotiations is to set new selling prices for mass-market products. Usually, commercial negotiations take place betweenecember * and March *. For the **** negotiations, supermarket professionals are faced with a change in dates, ...
5.2 Anti-waste law for a circular economy (Loi AGEC)
The mass retail sector is impacted by the AGEC law in several ways: lfood waste with unsold goods and the use of plastic with the reduction of single-use plastic packaging.
Management of unsold goods :
The mass retail sector is responsible for almost **% of food waste in France. ** million tonnes of edible ...
5.3 Loi Descrozaille
The Descrozaille law (***).
As soon as it comes into force, promotions for non-food products may not exceed exceed **%. Initially presented as a measure to protect manufacturers in their negotiations with supermarkets, this law has not met with unanimous approval french people rely heavily on promotions to reduce their spending.
Although our ...
6 Positioning the players
6.1 Player segmentation
The different types of sales channel in food retailing:
For example, Intermarché, a group of independent retailers, includes supermarkets, hypermarkets and convenience stores. Here's a table summarizing the different types of sales outlets:
It's important to note that SDMPs (***) are not included in this classification. In concrete terms, we're not talking ...
- E.Leclerc
- Les Mousquetaires Groupement
- Système U
- Carrefour France
- Lidl France
- Aldi France
- Auchan Retail
- Casino France
- Coop Atlantique
List of charts presented in this market study
- How often do French people go to the supermarket?
- Frequency with which French people visit hypermarkets
- Average monthly food budget per French household
- Where the French shop for their groceries
- Answer to the question "in the future, if you had to keep just one type of food store, would it be...?"
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Latest news
Coopérative U ready to double its 100% pork sourcing - 24/06/2024
- - Contract duration: 5 years
- - Partnership with the Porc Confiance association to strengthen the supply of 100% French pork.
- - Objective: to double supplies from 3,000 to 7,000 pigs per week by 2025.
- - Cooperatives included in the contract: Eureden, Agrial, and Terrena.
- - 100% of U-brand pork charcuterie (excluding specialties) is of French origin.
Carrefour, the franchise model, denounced by Bercy - 19/06/2024
- An association of nearly 170 Carrefour franchisees is involved in a legal challenge against the group.
- The French Ministry of the Economy is asking the Rennes Commercial Court to modify Carrefour's franchise agreements and fine the group 200 million euros.
- Franchise contracts are at the heart of the case, with accusations of imposing "excessive and uncompetitive recommended resale prices" and requiring franchisees to source 45% to 50% of their supplies from Carrefour's central purchasing units.
- Carrefour has a market share of almost 20% in France
- Its franchising model, with some 2,600 franchised stores out of a total of nearly 6,000, accounts for half of the company's sales in France.
Franchising: Carrefour sued by Bercy for 200 million euros - 19/06/2024
- Amount claimed by Bercy from Carrefour: 200 million euros.
- - Minimum percentage of compulsory purchases for Carrefour franchisees: 45 to 50%.
- - Number of stores opened each year with Carrefour Proximité: 250.
- - Number of franchise candidates attracted by Carrefour each year: over 6,000
- - Share of franchising in Carrefour convenience stores: over 90%.
- - Share of franchises in Carrefour Market supermarkets: over 70%.
Supermarkets: reinvention or decline | Reinvention or decline of supermarkets - 13/05/2024
- In 2023, 78% of Carrefour supermarkets operated under lease management or franchise. 35% of Carrefour hypermarkets were managed under one of these two systems.
- For the first time in 2023, 50% of Carrefour's sales in France came from stores operated under lease management or franchise.
- The 23,000 former Carrefour employees affected by this transformation reported an annual financial loss of between 2,000 and 2,300 euros.
- Leclerc, Intermarché and Système U together held 51% of market share, representing the fastest-growing entities in the sector.
- Food retailing has seen its margins halved in seven years.
- In Belgium, Delhaize's transition to franchisee status has improved store productivity by at least 2% to 3%, in an industry where net profitability is 1.8% to 2% per store.
Growth for Système U via central purchasing bodies in Europe - 16/02/2024
- Système U was founded 130 years ago.
- Today, the cooperative has 1,726 stores.
- In 2023, the penetration rate among French households was 41.3%, with an average shopping basket of 41 euros.
- Système U has a market share of 11.8%.
- Leaders Leclerc and Carrefour have over 20% market share.
- In 2023, Système U posted sales of 26 billion euros, up 8.4%.
- The online site CoursesU.com generated sales of 1.2 billion euros, up 14%.
- By 2023, the network will have 57 new U stores.
- The Group also has 132 stores outside mainland France, including 9 new ones in Africa.
- The small convenience stores, U Express and Utile, are also expanding in France, and will soon exceed a thousand units.
Système U: 8.4% sales growth by 2023 - 15/02/2024
- - Sales growth excluding fuel in 2023: +8.4%
- - Year-on-year increase in market share: +0.2 points
- - Number of store openings in one year: 21
- - Number of new customers in one year: 36
- - Sales incl. VAT and fuel in one year: 33.18 billion euros (+7.2%)
- - Sales incl. VAT excl. fuel in one year: 25.89 billion euros (+8.4%)
- - Details of sales area extensions: - 21 new stores - 36 new stores - 2 transfers - 35 extensions.
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