Carrefour said that its like-for-like sales were down 0.1% in France in the fourth quarter of its financial year, impacted by the 'gilets jaunes' (yellow vest) protests towards the end of last year.
Sales in its French operation were up 0.5% at constant exchange rates in the quarter, to €10.6 billion.
It said that its French hypermarket operation was the most affected by the yellow-vest protests, with the division's like-for-like sales down 2.2% in the quarter.
Across the group's Europe operation, like-for-like sales were down 1.7% (-0.9% at constant exchange rates), while in Latin America, like-for-like sales were up 12.9% (+15.4% at constant exchange rates), and in Asia, sales were down 4.1% (-6.2% at constant exchange rates).
'Unprecedented Transformation'
“Carrefour’s solid fourth-quarter performance confirms the full-year 2018 dynamic," commented Alexander Bompard, Carrefour chief executive.
"Since the launch of the Carrefour 2022 plan one year ago, we have set in motion an unprecedented transformation of our Group. In 2018, we reviewed and simplified our organisations, improved our efficiency, entered into major partnerships and implemented our new growth model."
Overall, group sales were up 1.9% on a like-for-like basis for the quarter, compared to a 1.1% increase over the first nine months of the year. E-commerce sales were up by more than 30%, the group added.
In terms of Carrefour's full year performance, like-for-like sales were up 1.4% for full-year 2018, or +2.5% at constant exchange rates. The retailer posted €85.16 billion in sales last year.
New Dynamic
In its release, Carrefour highlighted some of the changes it implemented since the launch of the Carrefour 2022 transformation plan a year ago, including a reduction in assortment of around 7.5% in its stores, the opening of new store-in-store concepts in several locations, reductions in the size of its hypermarkets, and expansion of its tech capabilities.
Bompard also praised the retailer's 'Act for Food' programme, which seeks to promote healthy eating and a more sustainable supply chain.
"This year also saw the roll-out of our new ambition to lead the food transition, driven by our global Act For Food programme," he said. "Through the sum of its commitments and concrete initiatives, Carrefour has become the leader in healthy eating. I commend the work and commitment of all the teams to transform our group and set it on the road to success.”
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
