Guyenne & Gascogne, the largest franchisee of French retailer Carrefour, has seen first-half group profits fall by almost 5%.
The company, which operates a number of Carrefour and Champion outlets in south-east France, posted a 4.9% fall in consolidated net profit to EUR12.5m (US$17m).
Guyenne & Gascogne is one of the few Carrefour franchisees to operate its own logistics platforms, allowing a degree of autonomy in regional promotions.
The first half of 2007 saw the Guyenne & Gascogne business undertake a heavy promotional programme to secure its market share, generating a EUR1.2m first-half loss on the balance sheet.
Guyenne & Gascogne’s consolidated profit figure includes contributions from Sogara, a joint venture with Carrefour, and from Centros Comerciales Carrefour, in which Guyenne & Gascogne holds an 8% stake.
Sogara posted a first-half net profit of EUR9.8m, down 21% on the year. Guyenne & Gascogne also earns a share of Centros Comerciales Carrefour first-half net profit of EUR203m, proportional to its 8% stake.
