French retailers Leclerc and Intermarché have quit as associate members of the country’s grocery trade association.

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The independent operators blamed strategic differences with retail giants such as Carrefour and Auchan.


Leclerc said the debate on reform of the French retail sector – which ranges from Sunday trading and the pricing system to the opening of new retail outlets – had illustrated the “differences in strategic approach” between the “independents” and the “integrators”.


Intermarché said it had not been able to find its place within the trade body, the Fédération des entreprises du Commerce et de la Distribution (FCD).


The company also highlighted “divergence on strategic orientations” among FCD members over the French government’s planned reforms.

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“The particularities of our network of (more than 3,000) independent distributors operating convenience-type supermarkets have not been taken into account sufficiently,” Intermarché said.


The FCD said Leclerc et Intermarché had been invited to become full members of the Federation last month. “The door remains open. There is a time to be individualist and a time to participate in a collective debate where the priority is the general interest of the sector,” the FCD said.


Last year, another independent operator, Système U, opted to join the FCD.