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Summary of our market study
The global food superstore (FSS) market is experiencing significant growth, with an estimated value of US$5,600 billion in 2020 and a forecast CAGR of 4% to reach US$7,369 billion in 2027.
This expansion is driven by the rapid growth of emerging markets, particularly China, as well as by the increasing purchasing power of consumers.
Food retailing trends in the French market
Supermarkets, preferred by 75% of French consumers for their food purchases, are gradually gaining market share from hypermarkets.
The hard discount sector, dominated by Lidl and Aldi, accounts for just under 11% of the French market.
The French supermarket market is undergoing a consolidation trend. The Casino group has sold many stores to Auchan and Intermarché.
The dominance of hypermarkets, which account for over 58% of market share, is declining, and market dynamics favor supermarkets.
Sales of food superstores are down slightly. Consumers prefer supermarkets, which hold 53% of market share and are gaining ground at the expense of hypermarkets.
Around half of all households consider their monthly food budget, which ranges from around 200 to 500 euros, to be too high. Food budgets remain stable overall.
When choosing a store, French consumers give priority to factors such as value for money (52%), the availability of the desired product (50%), the store's location (45%) and the presence of quality fresh produce (45%).
Price alone is no longer the only determining factor. Consumers are looking for greater purchasing comfort, and are moving towards organic and eco-responsible products, with clear, transparent information.
Interest in fresh, local and minimally processed foods is growing, as is the frequency with which organic products are purchased.
These preferences are even more pronounced among younger consumers, who are also attracted by the convenience and efficiency of ready-to-eat meals.
The hard discount market has seen a decline, with 25% of discount stores closing between 2014 and mid-2019.
Hard discount stores such as Lidl embarked on a strategic shift towards a "smart discount" model in 2012. This strategy involves modernizing stores, offering higher-quality products including fresh produce and private labels, improving shopping convenience, investing in social media branding and maintaining high quality standards
French food retail players
- Traditional supermarket and hypermarket giants: Leclerc, Carrefour, Auchan, Intermarché, Super and Hyper U
- Hard discounters: The two German heavyweights: Lidl and Aldi
- Netto, Les Mousquetaires' hard discount chain, has ambitious plans to open 500 new stores.
- New entrants and niche players: Picard for frozen foods, Biocoop for organic products, Supeco, the Carrefour group's hard discount company, which has already established itself in Spain.
- Casino Group's Leader Price
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Definition and scope of study
The hard discount concept, characterized by medium-sized stores focusing on food products at reduced prices, expanded significantly in France from the 1990s onwards. originally introduced in the country by German chains Lidl and Aldi, it was later adopted by major French retailers such as Netto and Leader Price.
However, since the 2010s, this model has encountered challenges on the French market. Its evolution has been so marked that it's questionable whether it's still appropriate to use the term "hard " to describe it. Nowadays, it's not uncommon to hear the terms SDMP (supermarkets with predominantly own-brand brands) or EDMP (retailers with predominantly their own-brand brands) used to describe these brands.
The global supermarket market is dynamic, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.5% between 2022 and 2030. What's more, the Schwarz Group is the world's leading discount retailer. As for the French food retail market, it operates as an Oligopoly, with 3 major groups(E.Leclerc, Carrefour and Les Mousquetaires) sharing nearly 60% of total sales.
In France, the discount market is varied and made up of many players, both food and non-food discounters . by way of illustration, according to an EY study, in 2023, the French people's favorite discount chain will be Action. The market is therefore very dynamic and very popular with the French, and even more so since inflation.
Discount chains have been seeking to modernize over the last ten years to attract more and more customers. The arrival of a new range of first-price products on the shelves in 2024 could continue to attract new customers.
1.2 The global supermarket market: overview and main characteristics.
Research and Markets estimates the global supermarket and hypermarket market at $*,*** billion in ****. This market is expected to grow at a CAGR of *.*% between **** and ****.
Global food retail market size World, ****-****, in billions of dollars Source: ****
This is a dynamic market that should see continued growth over the coming ...
1.3 The French food superstore market
The food retail market is worth around*** billion eurosin France. Some **,*** French towns have a food store.
The French market isoligopolistic marketa few major groups share the bulk of the market:
Market shares of food retailers France, **** (***), in % and points Source: ****
E.Leclerc remains the market leader, with market share up ...
2 Demand analysis
2.1 French household food consumption habits
How often do the French go to the supermarket? France, ****, %, % source: opinionWay
The majority of respondents visit supermarkets once a week(***), underlining the prevalence of regular visits to make essential food purchases. Also, **% of respondents say they never visit a supermarket, which may reflect the use of alternative purchasing channels such ...
2.2 The French perception of discount
The qualities of hard discount chains France, ****, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, % Source: ****
The graph above shows that **% of respondents perceive these chains as offering good value for money, underlining the importance of the economic factor in their purchasing choices. Similarly, **% consider these brands to bethe least expensive, confirming their reputation as suppliers of competitively priced ...
2. 3 Inflation makes hard discount stores more attractive
Inflation rate trend France, ****-****, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, % Source: ****
Inflation will rise sharply in ****, to*.*%. **** was also a year of high inflation, despite a slight decrease compared to ****. This inflation has had a major impact on supermarket prices.
Impact of inflation on French consumer behavior France, ****, %, % Source: ****
With the rise in food prices, consumption ...
3 Market structure
3.1 Value chain
Source: ****
Hard-discount food chains are fairly autonomous in terms of sourcing, with most of the products available in stores being the chain's own brands. Once the products have been produced, they are sent to the group's warehouses and logistics platforms before being distributed to the chain's stores and finally sold to ...
3.2 Number of companies and number of employees
Number of food stores by format France, ****, by value Source: ****
As the graph shows, the majority of stores in France are convenience stores. Moreover, the hypermarket format is the least represented in France. However, it should be noted that the hypermarket is much larger in terms of sales area, ranging from ...
3.3 Will the discount market soon be saturated?
The growing popularity of hard-discount stores in France has aroused keen interest among suppliers looking to enter this lucrative market segment. However, this positive momentum could soon come up against a major obstacle: market saturation. Indeed, despite the attractive opportunities offered by the small-price sector, competition is intensifying as new brands ...
4 Offer analysis
4.1 The hard-discount food chain business model
The traditional hard-discount business model is based on a number of criteria:
A very low diversity of products on offer, focusing on the basic products that consumers buy on a daily basis. So, * product = * need, i.e. one - well-chosen - reference is offered for each type of product. This enables ...
4.2 Non-food discounters
In the French hard discount landscape, the diversity of chains is not limited to food discounters. In fact, alongside food giants such as Lidl and Aldi, a multitude of non-food discounters are also thriving, offering a varied range of products from household goods to DIY, home decoration and fashion.
These non-food ...
4.3 Discounters launch first-price product ranges
Lidl is currently undertaking a revolution in its offer by launching a range of first-price products on its shelves. This move is designed to fill a gap in its assortment compared with competitors such as Leclerc, which already has an extensive range of first-price products with its Eco+ brand, for example. ...
4.4 Discounters looking to modernize and enhance their image
The shift to smart and soft discount was launched by Lidl in ****
In ****, at a time when hard discount was losing market share, Lidl launched a vast plan to modernize its stores, making them more welcoming - and putting an end to the concept's "downmarket" and austere image - as well ...
5 Regulations
5.1 The law on the modernization of the economy, an advantage for discounters
The French Law on the Modernization of the Economy, commonly known as the LME, was officially promulgated on August *, ****. Its main aim is to remove obstacles hindering the development of certain sectors, thereby promoting job creation and lowering prices.
The provisions of the Law on the Modernization of the Economy cover ...
5.2 Anti-waste law for a circular economy (Loi AGEC)
The mass retail sector is impacted by the AGEC law on several points: food waste with unsold products and the use of plastic with the reduction of single-use plastic packaging.
Management of unsold goods:
The mass retail sector is responsible for nearly **% of food waste in France. in France, ** million tonnes ...
5.3 Loi Descrozaille
The Descrozaille law (***).
As soon as it comes into force, promotions for non-food products may not exceedexceed **%. Initially presented as a measure to protect manufacturers in their negotiations with supermarkets, this law has not met with unanimous approval.french people rely heavily on promotions to reduce their spending.
Although our study ...
6 Positioning the players
6.1 Player segmentation
- Lidl France
- Aldi
- E.Leclerc
- Intermarché ITM Les Mousquetaires
- Système U
- Auchan groupe
- Action France
- Gifi France
- Netto (Intermarché les mousquetaires)
- Aldi France
- Miniso
- Hema
- Normal
- Stokomani (Zouari Groupe)
- La Foir'Fouille
- Noz Arrivages
- B&M France
- Centrakor Stores
- Maxi Bazar (Zouari Groupe)
- Le Marché aux Affaires
List of charts presented in this market study
- Size of the global food retail market
- Ranking of the largest supermarket groups by sales figures
- Leading discount retailers worldwide by grocery sales
- Market share of food distributors
- Trends in hypermarket and supermarket sales
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Latest news
Coopérative U ready to double its supply of 100% U pork - 24/06/2024
Food: Intermarché turns its 56 plants to fresh produce and vegetables - 10/06/2024
- Agromousquetaires is France's fourth or fifth-largest agrifood group, focusing on beef and pork with its slaughterhouses.
- 56 plants and sales of 4.7 billion euros, up 7% year-on-year,
- The group owns the last French diaper factory.
- The industrial division produces 75% for Intermarché's own brands (Monique Ranou charcuterie, Jean Rozé meat, Pâturages dairy products, etc.).
- The fishing fleet, the largest in France with 15 boats
How Intermarché intends to achieve a 20% market share - 16/05/2024
- - Reopening of 35 supermarkets under the Intermarché or Netto banners
- - Number of supermarkets and hypermarkets acquired from Casino in the southeast: 65 supermarkets, 10 hypermarkets
- - Number of supermarkets and hypermarkets acquired from Casino in Rhône-Alpes: 56 supermarkets, 4 hypermarkets
- - Current Intermarché market share in 2023: 16.7
- - Intermarché short-term target market share: 18.5
- - Intermarché's medium-term target market share: around 20%
- - Total number of outlets to be transformed: 294, comprising 257 supermarkets and 37 hypermarkets
- - Number of integrated ex-Casino employees: 10,000
Thierry Cotillard (Les Mousquetaires): "We want to become invulnerable" - 29/02/2024
- - 300 integrated Casino stores and 10,000 employees
- - Group sales of €52.9 billion in 2023 (including fuel), up 7.8%
- - Group sales of €39.9 billion in 2023 (excluding fuels), up 10%
- - Intermarché sales of €28.8 bn (excluding fuels), up 8.8%
- - Netto sales of €1.6 billion (excluding fuels), up 15.7%
- - Agromousquetaires sales up 7% to €4.7 billion
- - Sales of €3.4 bn for the DIY division (Bricomarché, Bricorama, Brico Cash, Tridôme, Bricoprivé.com and Racetools), stable
- - Sales of €359m for mobility banners (Roady, Rapid Pare-Brise), up 4.3% (including fuel)
Auchan faces another "difficult" year in 2023 - 22/02/2024
- -Auchan net loss in 2023: 379 million euros
- - Previous year's profit: 33 million euros
- - Auchan's position in the French retail sector: 5th
- - Revenue in 2023: down 1.7% to 32.9 billion euros
- - Share of hypermarkets in Auchan's store base: 21%
- - Acquisition of Casino stores by Auchan and Intermarché: 70 supermarkets, 26 hypermarkets, including five larger than 9,000 m2, and two drives
Growth for Système U via central purchasing bodies in Europe - 16/02/2024
- Système U was founded 130 years ago.
- Today, the cooperative has 1,726 stores.
- In 2023, the penetration rate among French households was 41.3%, with an average shopping basket of 41 euros.
- Système U has a market share of 11.8%.
- Leaders Leclerc and Carrefour have over 20% market share.
- In 2023, Système U posted sales of 26 billion euros, up 8.4%.
- The online site CoursesU.com generated sales of 1.2 billion euros, up 14%.
- By 2023, the network will have 57 new U stores.
- The Group also has 132 stores outside mainland France, including 9 new ones in Africa.
- The small convenience stores, U Express and Utile, are also expanding in France, and will soon exceed a thousand units.
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the hard discount market | France
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