Next year, Carrefour plans to open the first store of Brazilian price-fighter formula Atacadão in Europe. What are the success factors of the unique cash-and-carry discount chain, which combines the strong points of several European and American chains?
Response to the purchasing power crisis
It was one of the big surprises during Carrefour CEO Alexandre Bompard’s recent strategic update: Brazilian price fighter Atacadão is coming to Europe. The first French branch will open next spring in Seine-Saint-Denis, one of the country’s poorest departments, according to French trade magazine LSA. The department northeast of Paris is a notorious suburb with high unemployment, home mostly to people from migrant backgrounds. This cannot be a coincidence: with its Brazilian cash-and-carry formula, Carrefour hopes to have an answer to the current purchasing power crisis.
