E. Leclerc is still, far and away, the biggest player in France's 'Drive' sector, however, Carrefour showed the most growth last year, according to figures compiled by retail analyst Olivier Dauvers.
The Drive category accounted for €6.4 billion worth of turnover last year, up from €5.9 billion in 2017, and close to double that recorded in 2013 (€3.7 billion), according to the data.
Major Players
With turnover of €3.045 billion through the Drive channel last year, E. Leclerc is, by far and away, the biggest player in the sector, with the retailer seeing a 7% increase in turnover last year.
Auchan Drive, in second place, saw a 4% increase, to €756 million, however, there is a new player in third place, with Carrefour Drive seeing a 20% year-on-year increase, to account for €636 million worth of sales through the channel.
Other key players in the Drive channel include CoursesU.com, up 10%, to €590 million; Intermarché's Le Drive, up 14%, to €550 million; and Chronodrive, which posted €455 million in turnover last year, on a par with the previous year.
E. Leclerc Drive accounts for a market share of 48% of the entire Drive sector, with Auchan Drive holding 12% and Carrefour Drive on 10%.
As of 1 January 2019, there were 4,801 operational Drive outlets across France, up from 4,343 in 2018.
Pedestrian Drive
Earlier this month, Carrefour announced plans to open as many as 31 'Pedestrian Drive' outlets in Paris, to add to the existing 11 that it operates in Lyon.
'Pedestrian Drive' stores work in a similar manner to traditional Drive outlets, in that orders are placed online and then collected. The difference is that pedestrians do so on foot, rather than in their cars.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
