If you plan to visit France (or anywhere in Europe) you often hear people talk about not having Target or Walmart stores to shop. You’ll find a bakery, butcher and sweet shop on every corner! Europeans don’t shop at Walmart!
Well, let me tell you. I found the French equivalent to Walmart this weekend. And it was NUTS!
I needed to purchase a pillow since the apartment only had one per person, and I just couldn’t sleep without two. We walked past several bakeries, butcheries, sweet shops and corner stores to the Centre Commercial Nice Etoile. The mall here in Nice. Inside you will find clothing shops, jewelry stores, eateries, and a massive store – Carrefour.
I couldn’t stop staring, open mouthed at this gigantic store that I almost walked right into the back of my husband (who was doing some staring of his own).
A bit of history:
Carrefour opened its first supermarket in Annecy, France in 1960. Interestingly, Walmart wasn’t established until 1962. In 1963, Carrefour invented a new store concept, the hypermarket, opening a 27,000 sq ft store with 12 checkout lanes and 400 parking spaces. They even expanded to Spain and Brazil in the 1970’s and have continued to expand throughout Europe, Asia and South America. It is completely possible that I have seen a Carrefour store in my travels and never noticed this super giant of supermarkets.
Carrefour = The French Walmart:
Just like Walmart, Carrefour has everything you need – from food to televisions to books and washing machines. You can pretty much find it all. The clothing section is definitely smaller than Walmart, but you can purchase the basics all in one stop. I walked the aisles in awe as I was jostled about by French shoppers eagerly tending to their shopping on a Saturday afternoon.
Just like the smaller Walmart Marketplace locations that have been popping up all over the US, I found a Carrefour Express right in the heart of Old Town Nice. We actually shopped there on our first trip to Nice, I just didn’t realize it was a smaller version of the massive Carrefour hyperstore. As it turns out, there are Carrefour City stores in Paris as well as Carrefour Markets in smaller villages.
Benefits of Carrefour:
Lots of sales throughout the store, especially 2 + 1 Gratuit (Buy 2, get 1 free).
Store coupons found online!
Le Carte Carrefour gives you perks and access to special checkout lanes.
Good value for the store brands.
Open later than most French stores.
A few difference you will notice between Carrefour and Walmart:
Carrefour employees were more helpful and friendly (yes, even to Americans).
You don’t see people shopping in their pajamas at Carrefour as you would at the US counterpart.
HUGE cheese shop and “deli” area at Carrefour.
The food we purchased from Carrefour was of a much higher quality than Walmart.
Just like other French shops, bring your own bag or be prepared to purchase one.
While I can definitely see the benefit of such stores and of having the convenience of shopping when more French proprietors have closed their doors, I prefer to shop the local boulangerie (bakery), fromagerie (cheese shop) and smaller fresh markets. That being said, I do like the new pillow that I purchased along side a box of cereal, fabric softener and shredded cheese.
If you’re heading to France, see the Carrefour locations here.
Have you shopped at a Carrefour store? Did you find it similar to the US Walmart?
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Based in France, Carrefour is a massive retail chain. The company operates more than 12,000 stores across 30 countries. For comparison, Walmart has just under 11,000 stores in 24 countries.
Carrefour Hypermarché (Hypermarket): These are the largest of all Carrefour stores and the closest thing to a French Walmart—a wide range of products, including groceries, electronics, clothing, and more.
Carrefour was introduced to the region in 1995 by UAE company Majid Al Futtaim. Majid Al Futtaim owns the exclusive rights to operate Carrefour under Majid Al Futtaim's distinct name and “M” logo, underscoring our dedication to our local identity in 15 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Carrefour Market is a French supermarket chain created in 2007, owned by the international retail group Carrefour, and has currently stores in France and several other countries, see below. Carrefour Market stores generally range from 1000 m2 to 4000 m2.
But more often than not, I find myself buying groceries at Auchan, a hypermarket I liken to France's version of Costco. Auchan is one of the biggest grocery stores in France with over 4,000 locations across 17 countries.
Top 5 supermarket chains in France are: Carrefour, Intermarché, E.Leclerc, Auchan, and Monoprix. Carrefour: One of the most popular supermarkets in France and around the world. There're different types of Carrefours, depending on the size of the store.
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Retailers in Europe focus on various areas and noone is as prominent as Walmart. The top retailer is Schwarz Group that owns the Lidl and Kaufland brands but it's not as dominant as Walmart is in the US. Aldi, Tesco, Penny, Carrefour, Metro, Auchan are quite prominent too.
The Emmaus shops in France are usually a veritable treasure trove selling all manner of recycled second hand goods, from furniture, bric-a-brac, records, books and clothes to cookers, fridges, electrical goods, French antiques and bicycles.
Carrefour's competitors and similar companies include Ahold Delhaize, Walmart, Tesco, Publix and Kroger. Carrefour is a company that operates a chain of hypermarkets, supermarkets, cash and carry, and convenience stores. Ahold Delhaize (also known as Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize) is a food retail company.
Retailers in Europe focus on various areas and noone is as prominent as Walmart. The top retailer is Schwarz Group that owns the Lidl and Kaufland brands but it's not as dominant as Walmart is in the US. Aldi, Tesco, Penny, Carrefour, Metro, Auchan are quite prominent too.
Carrefour Express, Carrefour City, Carrefour Contact :our convenience stores. With sales areas increasing from 200 to 900m2, Proxi, Carrefour Bio, Carrefour Contact, Carrefour Express and Carrefour City are our day-to-day living brands.
Since 2006, all new Supercentres have been solely branded as Asda Supercentre without the Walmart branding. The first Supercentre with a sales area of 8,600 m2 (93,000 sq ft) opened in Patchway, Bristol in the summer of 2000.
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