Why Belgium is the only country in Europe where Carrefour’s turnover is falling
The French supermarket chain Carrefour saw its comparable sales drop by 7% in Belgium in the first quarter. This figure is just under the billion mark, according to quarterly figures released on Wednesday.
Comparable sales fell to 996 million euros in Belgium. The company points out that this drop follows two years of growth, in a market that remains very competitive. At the start of 2020 it was still up 6.2% and in the first quarter of 2021 it was up 2.9%.
In France, sales remain and in other European countries where Carrefour has stores, sales spread. South America (+16.6%) is up sharply, while in Taiwan, there is a slight drop due to health measures linked to Covid. In total, the group’s turnover on a comparable basis – without oil and calendar effects and at constant exchange rates – increased by 3.4% to reach 20.2 billion euros. Including these different elements, we see a 9% increase in sales.
According to the company’s website, Carrefour currently has 786 stores in Belgium. At the beginning of this year, it was announced that it will lose the stores that the Mestdagh supermarket group currently operates for Carrefour in our country. The contract with Carrefour expires at the end of this year and competitor Intermarché is expected to take over Mestdagh’s 87 stores from January 1, 2023. The competition authority must first give its approval.