The “Société les Mousquetaires”, the group behind the Intermarché supermarkets, has a new chairman: Thierry Cotillard. He immediately sets clear priorities: discount and digitisation are at the forefront.
Lower prices
On Tuesday 24 January, the Musketeers’ general meeting elected Thierry Cotillard as its new chairman. The 49-year-old entrepreneur owns three Intermarché supermarkets near Paris and is a shareholder of two Bricorama DIY stores in the same region. In the press release on his taking office, he sets five clear priorities for the group.
The group needs to focus decisively on discount, he argues. The price positioning needs to be even better, so costs must be further reduced and the retailer will make “bold and innovative commercial choices”. It also needs to embrace a digital culture and increase e-commerce sales.
An important role will be played by Agromousquetaires, the food production division that enables the group to differentiate itself in terms of quality and price. Sustainability is a priority: the Musketeers want to be at the forefront of circular economy, agricultural transition and energy efficiency. Finally, the group will also forge alliances with new partners in strategic areas such as data, digital, logistics and home delivery.
Big ambitions
The Musketeers are a retail group with considerable European scale. The group accounts for fifty billion euros in sales with seven retail chains, mainly in the food, DIY and automotive sectors: Intermarché, Netto, Bricomarché, Brico Cash, Bricorama, Roady, Rapid Pare-Brise. They total 3,949 outlets in Europe, including 3,160 in France. The Agromousquetaires division has 59 plants, together accounting for 4.2 billion euros.
Since its acquisition of the Mestdagh group, Intermarché has 163 stores in Belgium, generating combined sales of 1.4 billion euros and worth a 12.4 % market share in the French-speaking part of Belgium. Its ambitions are big: the retailer wants to become the market leader in the French-speaking part of the country and is also testing its potential in two Flemish stores. But first awaits the hefty task of finding franchisees for 51 stores. There is great unrest among employees about this, as they fear for their working conditions under a new status.
