1. Retail channels overview
In France, the number of retail channels is growing each year as indicated in Table 3-4. In 2014, it amounted to 216.6 billion for sales revenue. On the other hand, the amount of sales points of retail channels is increasing in both cities and suburbs under different forms, such as hypermarkets or minimarkets. This shows a positive growth trend for the future of retail channels in France and its importance in the distribution system in the country. Since retail channels are where most consumers
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make their daily consumption, they should be the first concern for new entrants in order to reach potential consumers and to enlarge their market shares in the future.
Table 0-7 Sales revenue of retail channels in France
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Among all the other retail channels, hypermarkets are the ones which generate the most sales revenue each year and account for approximately 40 % of the total revenue of retail channels in virtue of the diversity of the products they offer for meeting the needs of consumers. However, due to the large size of hypermarkets and high price of renting in the city, they are usually located far from the city centers or in suburbs where situate most of the commercial areas. Hypermarkets are usually set up with large free parking areas in order to provide more convenience for consumers.
Supermarkets are the second largest retail channels in France, which account for 27% of the total retail channels revenue. They usually situate in the city and are well-located in the center in order to reach more potential consumers. Being limited to their sizes which are much smaller than hypermarkets, the dimension of their products is usually smaller and they provide mainly the most needed or sold products.
Besides, convenient stores are less popular in France than in Asia, which account for 3.8% of the total retail channels revenue. They are mostly situated near schools, residential areas or in city center, and their pricing are usually a lot higher
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than in hypermarkets or supermarkets. Sizes of convenient stores are relatively small and the variety of products is very limited.
Table 0-8 Sales revenue of different retail channels in France (Euro billion) Retail channels category 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Hypermarket 80.8 83.3 86.3 88.2 89.4 90.5
Supermarket 53.1 54.6 56.1 57.8 58.4 59.1
Convenient store 6 5.9 6.1 6.4 6.5 6.7
Discount store 16 16.4 16.7 17.2 16.9 16.7
others 2.1 1.9 2 1.9 1.8 1.8
Total 158 162.1 167.2 171.5 173 174.8
Source: Euromonitor International (2015) (2) Market share
As shown in Table 3-6, among all retail channels, convenience stores have the most sale points in France while the second most common retail channel is supermarkets. This phenomenon can be explained by the relatively low costs of convenient stores which usually have smaller size and easier to be operated.
Furthermore, discount stores are also common in France since its cheap price attracts attention of consumers. Besides, supermarkets see their growth in recent years because of the convenience they bring, such as delivery service and drive through service.
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Table 0-9 Numbers of different retail channels in France
Retail channels category 2009 2010 2012 2013 2014
Hypermarket 1591 1607 1655 1683 1705
Supermarket 7398 7576 7763 7775 7785
Convenient store 8785 8838 9024 8935 8908
Discount store 4539 4713 4651 4548 4451
Source：Euromonitor International (2015)
(3) Retail channels under different groups
As to retail channels under different groups for hypermarkets, we can see that E.
Leclerc has the most sale point as shown in Table 3-7. According to USDA (2014), E.
Leclerc, Carrefour、Auchan、Geant Casino and Intermarche Hyper account for 65 % of the whole market share altogether.
Table 0-10 Retail channels under different groups - hypermarket
Group Number Carrefour Market, Franprix, Super U, and Casino as indicated in Table 3-8.
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Table 0-11 Retail channels under different groups - supermarket
Group Number Intermarché, Carrefour, Carrefour Market, and Auchan.
Table 0-12 Retail channels under different groups (in %)
Group 2012 2013 2014
Besides, discount stores become more and more popular in France. As in Talbe 3-10, Lidl has the most sale point followed by Aldi、Dia、Leader Price and Netto.
Huge groups of hypermarkets and supermarkets are also competing in discount stores
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market by merging little discount stores. A monopoly trend is predicted to control the retail channels in the future.
Table 0-13 Retail channels under different groups – discount store
Group Number 3. Retail channels - malls and department stores
Market shares of malls and department stores are shown in Table 3-11. Galeries Lafayette is the most important retail channel which has a market share of 35 % and its revenue accounts for 54 % of the whole market revenue. Its main products are luxurious items. In addition, Galeries Lafayette and Printemps are the two main retail channels for malls and department stores. They occupy approximately 92 % of the whole market share.
Table 0-14 Retail channels – malls and department stores (in%)
Group 2012 2013 2014
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4. Online shopping
The emerge and fast growth of smartphone, and the pervasion of internet change the consumer behavior around the world since they can purchase things anywhere and anytime they prefer without considering the boarder. Online shopping has become more and more important in France and internet is another platform for enterprises to communicate with consumers. As shown in Table 3-12, apparel and Footwear are the most purchased products, which account for 18 %.Media products, consumer electronics, food and drink are also important products online.
Table 0-15 Product consumption online (in million euro)
Product 2011 2012 2013 2014
Apparel and Footwear 3,031.20 3,551.20 4,058.20 4,637.20
Beauty and Personal Care 418.7 444.5 470.5 489.9
Consumer Appliances 565.6 591.4 631.2 681.2
Consumer Electronics 2,635.50 2,651.60 2,701.80 2,791.80
Consumer Healthcare 103.4 113.9 127.2 137.3
Food and Drink 2,295.70 2,590.90 2,887.80 3,221.40
Home Care 37.7 41.2 45.2 49.7
Media Products 3,165.70 3,528.80 3,906.30 4,322.00
Personal Accessories and Eyewear 331.6 359.7 388.5 427.7
Pet Care 92.7 97.1 103 108.3
Traditional Toys and Games 281.3 321.6 403.8 427.1
Video Games Hardware 69.4 66.7 66.6 78.8
Other Internet Retailing 4,481.70 5,294.40 6,363.50 7,755.70 Internet Retailing 18,058.10 20,207.00 22,732.90 25,729.10
Source：Euromonitor International (2015)
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As to the market share of online shopping platforms, we can tell from Table 3-13 that Amazon is the most dominating platform in France, followed by Cdiscount.
Furthermore, eBay, Vente-privee.com, La Redoute are also other important platforms consumers use for online shopping.
Table 0-16 Online shopping platform (in %)
Platform 2011 2012 2013
Regarding to the competition analysis, this part will focus mainly on processed food products and handicrafts which are the key products of this research in order to provide more precise information about the intensity of the competition for new entrant into French market.
1. Processed food products
The competition in processed food products industry, as shown in Figure 3-7, is composed of Asian products made in Europe, different types of Asian products made in Asia, similar Asian products under different brands.