Director Large Distribution Indian Ocean GBH, Amaury de Lavigne takes stock of the renovation of Carrefour and Carrefour Market points of sale in Reunion. Supporting figures, it exposes the current place of the brand in the Reunion commercial landscape.
Meeting Leader : Consumers have been able to see the transformation of Carrefour stores since the takeover of Vindémia, two years ago. Where is the renovation and relaunch program for these stores? ?
Amaury de Lavigne : We renovated six stores last year and we are continuing our substantial investment plan.
Difficulties in supplying and ordering materials have unfortunately slowed down the work.. In 2022, we renovated the Chatel stores, of Saint-Benoit and Roquefeuil. Early 2023, we are redoing the Vauban stores, Saint-Joseph et Moufia.
Are you satisfied with the results obtained by the brand? ?
Footfall in our stores is increasing and our turnover is moving in the right direction.. The efforts we make every day on prices, our commitments to fight inflation seem to resonate favorably with our clients. However, supply difficulties and rising prices, that we do not systematically pass on, strongly constrain our margins. Economic balances are very difficult to find at the moment.
The evolution of the commercial landscape following the difficulties of Run Market has brought back to the table the eternal criticism leveled at you : GBH would have too much weight on the island. What do you answer ?
Today's Carrefour brand has fewer stores and retail space than Casino/Vindémia previously.. During the acquisition of Vindémia, the Competition Authority asked us to sell six stores (four hypers and two supers). With our three historic stores, today we have a reduced number of three stores and 2,000 m2 less commercial space. As a reminder, we have 26% market share in sales area in accordance with the calculation method of the Competition Authority, and 29% market share in turnover, i.e. 750 million euros in turnover on a Reunion food market estimated at 2,6 billion euros. Finally, we kept our commitments made during the takeover of Vindémia, in particular by achieving a 7% price drop on the Vindémia perimeter in November 2020 when the stores took over. Competition has never been as lively and balanced as since the acquisition of Vindémia. This is the first time that the co-leaders have an equivalent size and turnover. In the meeting, There had always been two main brands, but with a significant gap between the first and the second. If we had not done this operation, Vindémia would certainly have been sold in pieces, which would have caused significant social disruption, and considerably strengthened a brand compared to all the others.
Large distribution brands in Reunion Island have the choice between sourcing directly from brands or going through wholesale importers.. GBH also being a wholesale importer with Bamyrex, what is the group's policy in this area ?
The group has always favored local development, both in the animal and plant sectors and among manufacturers. Locally made products occupy more than 30% of the shelves in our stores. For import, we always look at what is most advantageous for our customers. Our choices are dictated by price imperatives, product lifespan and storage possibilities.
