Carrefour CEO Lars Olofsson said yesterday (16 July) that the French retail giant’s moves to revitalise the company were yielding “encouraging results” despite a 1.2% fall in second-quarter sales.
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The world’s second-largest retailer booked second-quarter turnover of EUR23.44bn (US$33.04bn), although the decline was slower than in the first quarter of 2009 when sales dropped 2.8%.
Like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, were down 0.5% during the three months to the end of June.
Olofsson said “stronger commercial dynamics and brand convergence”, as well as the launch of the cut-price own-label range Carrefour Discount had helped the retailer make “market share gains” in France.
Like-for-like sales in France, excluding fuel, were up 0.8%, with the company gaining 30 basis points in market share.
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By GlobalDataCarrefour’s French hypermarkets, which have suffered amid the economic downturn, saw like-for-like sales excluding fuel drop 1.4%. In the first quarter of the year, domestic hypermarket sales were down 2.5% on the same basis.
However, Carrefour admitted there had been a “deterioration” in Spain, where its like-for-like sales were down 7.4%.
The retailer said, however, that there had been a “slight improvement” in Italy and Belgium, where its second0quaretr sales fell 3.9% and 1% respectively.
In Carrefour’s “growth markets” in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, like-for-like sales inched up by 1.8% during the second quarter.
Expansion boosted constant-currency sales by 8.2% and, when foreign exchange is excluded, Carrefour’s sales in its growth markets climbed 10%.
Sales in Brazil accelerated, climbing by 16.7% at constant exchange rates. China also put in a better sales performance in the second quarter, with revenues up 11%.
“The strategic initiatives that we are implementing should show positive results in the second half. Our teams are mobilised and the group’s transformation plan is underway,” Olofsson said.
Like-for-like first-half sales were down 1.6%. Consolidated half-year sales were down 0.6% at EUR46.16bn.
