Carrefour has announced 750 openings in Spain and not because business is going especially well. He has announced them because the model that made him great (the suburban hypermarket) has been losing steam for a while. This strategic plan until 2030 is, above all, an adaptation to the reality of the modern consumer.
The background. Carrefour was one of those who popularized a way of shopping that dominated the retail European for a time: the hypermarket. A huge area on the outskirts, with free parking and the idea of having everything under one roof. Saturday shopping as a family ritual.
That model worked while life revolved around cars and rigid schedules. But habits have been changing, and with them the business.
The contrast. The 750 planned openings are not hypermarkets. They are mainly small-format, urban convenience stores (Carrefour Express), many operated by franchisees. The kind of place where you walk in on the way home, grab what’s missing, and in ten minutes you’re done. Not where you spend much more time filling a car.
In Spain, the only format that grew in 2024 was precisely this: 62 new Express stores compared to zero net openings in hypermarkets and large supermarkets.
Yes, but. Growing in convenience is easier to announce than to execute. The margin per square meter is lower, the competition is intense, from Dia to the regional chains; and the franchise model involves relying on third parties to maintain standards. Alexandre Bompard, CEO of Carrefour, has admitted that part of the growth will come through acquisitions, because the Spanish market “is fragmented.” In other words: you have to buy to gain scale, and that costs money and time.
Meanwhile, Lidl, with almost a 7% share, threatens to take second position from Carrefour in the Spanish market, where the French group has lost 0.7 points in a year and stands at 9%. Very far in any case from Mercadona.
The big question. What is done with the 206 hypermarkets that Carrefour has in Spain? The plan talks about converting up to 10% of its surface towards growth categories, such as pets, personal care or financial services. It is a reasonable solution, but it patches the format more than transforms it.
Carrefour’s real bet is to build a parallel business to the hypermarket, smaller and more urban, that grows while the large one stabilizes. If you succeed, you will have read the moment correctly. If not, you will have spent a lot of money chasing rivals who already have an advantage.
Featured image | Carrefour
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