Yahoo Finance France, Brazil Push Carrefour Revenue Ahead 4.2% in Q1
PARIS — Carrefour reported sales rose 4.2 percent to 18.56 billion euros over the first quarter, spurred on by consumption in France, where it has bulked up e-commerce services, as well as fast growth in Brazil.
“Our growth model, based on operational excellence, competitiveness and the power of our omnichannel offer, translates into market-share gains in our main countries,” said chief executive officer Alexandre Bompard. Under Bompard’s direction, Carrefour has bolstered its e-commerce through partnerships with technology companies, and increased organic food offers.
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Growth in France stood at 3.5 percent, with the company lauding a better performance than competitors in stores of all sizes, ranging from the big-box hypermarkets — a format invented by the retailer in the 1960s — to the smaller stores it has been reinforcing in recent years to meet shifting consumption habits.
In France, where competition in the grocery sector is fierce, Carrefour said market share-wise, this was its the best quarter in four years, thanks to a 0.2 point increase. Growth in April has been solid on a like-for-like basis, the retailer added, noting less stringent lockdown measures than previous periods.
In Brazil, sales were up 11.6 percent on a like-for-like basis, despite canceled carnival festivities and a slowdown in food inflation as well as coronavirus lockdown measures, the retailer said.
Citing confidence in its operational performance, Carrefour announced plans to buy back 500 million euros of shares by the end of 2021. The retailer said it was on track to meet 2022 objectives, which include 4.8 billion in sales of organic products and the disposal of 300 million euros of non-strategic real estate holdings.
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