CARREFOUR - 2015 annual activity and responsible commitment report

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“Carrefour is well
positioned to harness
the full potential
of the omni-channel
approach.”
Everywhere,we’redevelopingfoodandnon-foode-commerce
offers. Everywhere, we are working on the offer and product
families and ranges inorder to identify possible opportunities
for online retail. Everywhere, we have implemented a
solid approach to digital marketing and social-network
communications.
These changes run parallel to a newmindset: the corporate
culture is growing with more initiatives, more risk-taking,
more testing. Digital technology contributes to freeing up
available information and removing barriers from our
practices. This is indispensable if we want to attract the best
talent of the future, because just as customers are changing,
our employeesarechanging too.
Howdo you see your variousmarkets evolving?
Ourbalancedcountryportfolioisamajorasset.Ourhistorical
markets in Europe and Latin America are doing well. All
the European countries are growing, which confirms
that Europe has again become a main base for Carrefour.
In Latin America, we are strengthening our position as a
leader in food retail both in Brazil – our second-biggest
market – and in Argentina. In Asia, we saw renewed growth
inTaiwan, and inChinaweareadapting to the changes in the
local economy, likemany other are adjusting our
model for regional organisation, logistics, and local sourcing.
Inthis country just as inothers,weare thinking long-term.
We intend to play a consolidating role in these markets.
We also moved forward with tactical acquisitions, which
helped to reinforceorganic expansion, consolidateourmulti-
format position and enrich our know-how. This was the case
with the acquisitions of Rue du Commerce in France and
the Billa network of supermarkets in Romania. And with our
partnerCFAO,wetookourfirststepsintoAfrica,inIvoryCoast,
toprepareforthefuturethere.
Today, howdo you reconcile corporate responsibility
withbusiness performance?
Our stores, suppliers and NGOs are established and involved
in their regions. All of them contribute to their social and
economicdevelopment.
Over time, wehave formedpartnerships andmade commit-
ments tocombatalltypesofwaste,improveenergyefficiency,
encourage the preservation of biodiversity, and contribute
to solidarity. The Carrefour Foundation, which is dedicated
to solidarity through food, offers its support everywhere
it believes it’s necessary. It’s a progress and investment
strategyforsustainablebusiness.
What are your priorities for this year?
I have four main priorities for our teams in 2016. In terms of
merchandise, I want us to keep working on our food offer.
It’sourstrengthandisrootedintheGroup’sculture.Weshould
alsorefocusournon-foodoffer,onwhatispermanent,seasonal
orevent-oriented.
As regards our assets, Carrefour’s real-estate management
has been greatly professionalised over the past three years
andwe have been able to bring backmodernity, comfort, and
suitability to the commercial offer aroundour stores. Atmany
of our sites, we started large-scale real-estate projects that
will shape the future of our trade. The synergies between our
hypermarkets and the Carmila shoppingmalls are going tobe
used to enrich the customer experience. The transformation
work which has already begunwill continue tomove forward:
conversion of Dia stores, incorporation of compact super-
stores inSpain,andthedevelopmentof RueduCommerce.
In terms of finance, we are going to maintain a sensible,
sustainableinvestmentstrategy.Ourfinancialdisciplineallows
us toensure that our performance is steadyandstrong, and to
satisfytheconfidenceofourshareholders.
Finally, one of our priority actions will be to emphasise
employeetraininginordertoboosttheirprofessionalexpertise,
andhelpthemalonginlearninghowtodealwiththeuseofnew
technologies,whichwillbean integralpartof modernretail.
To summarise, we have a solid, promising business model
with significant growth potential. I have the strong belief
that Carrefour, a multi-format, integrated Group that
has an excellent territorial network, is well positioned to
harness the full potential of the omni-channel approach in
the countries inwhichwe operate.
6 UNIQUE AND MULTIPLE / 2015 ANNUAL ACTIVITY AND RESPONSIBLE COMMITMENT REPORT