The fastest-growing food retailer on the French market is – once again – German discounter Lidl. Market leader E.Leclerc continues to make progress, but Carrefour and Casino are unable to reverse the downward trend.
No turnaround
According to the latest publication by research agency Kantar Worldpanel, hypermarket chain E.Leclerc remains the market leader in France, with a market share of 21.7 %. In the past period (from 10 June to 7 July), the number one managed to gain 0.3 percentage points. This increases the chain’s lead over Carrefour, which lost exactly the same amount and now has a share of 19.9 %. Casino is also in the losing camp with a loss of 0.7 percentage points.
The difficulties for both retailers are not new: recently, Carrefour has recorded solid quarterly figures, but it is still waiting for a real turnaround in the home market. This is even more the case for Casino, which has a persistently high level of debt. Unsurprisingly, there are new rumours about a possible merger between the two losers…
The situation is very different for Lidl: the discounter has gained 0.5 percentage points and now has a market share of 6%, for the third time this year. The retailer attracted an additional 600,000 families and its promotional leaflet increased its ‘share of voice’. The chain is by far the largest investor in French media and spending increased by 9%. In addition to E.Leclerc and Lidl, Intermarché is also doing well: its market share rose by 0.3 percentage points and exceeds the 15 % mark.
