Groupe Casino has said that same-store sales across its network were up 3.2% in the first quarter of its financial year, an improvement on the 0.4% decline it reported in the final quarter of last year.
Its French business continues to underperform however, reporting a 1.6% decline in same-store sales in the first quarter, although this is an improvement on the 3.0% decline it reported in Q4 2021.
Earlier this week, rival Carrefour reported flat sales in France, with a decline in its hypermarket business.
French Banners
In France, its Casino supermarkets (+0.5%) and convenience (+3.7%) banners posted positive sales for the period, however hypermarkets (-1.2%), supermarkets (-2.5%), Monoprix (-3.0%) and Franprix (-2.2%) were all down.
The group said that its French business is showing signs of a turnaround, however, with sales growing 1.5% over the past four weeks.
'After several quarters affected by a contracting Paris market, the Parisian banners (Franprix and Monoprix) have seen trading recover sharply in recent weeks,' it added.
Its French e-commerce business saw first-quarter net sales up 21%.
Latin America
Latin America was the key driver of the group's first quarter performance with same-store growth of 9.7% reported across its various banners.
In Brazil, its Assaí business reported organic growth of 21.1% in the period (same-store growth of 6.7%), while Grupo Exito reported organic growth of 20.3% (same-store growth of 20.8%).
Looking ahead, Casino said that as the pandemic situation eases, the group is 'confident in its ability to recover growth momentum by capitalising on its differentiating assets and innovative services'.
This includes investment in convenience formats, including Monop', Franprix, Naturalia, Spar and Vival), with a target of more than 800 stores to be opened.
It also plans to continue its €4.5 billion disposal program in France, which it aims to have completed by the end of 2023.
© 2022 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.
