the hard discount market | France

1.1 Definition and scope of study

The hard discount market is a a subset of the broader food retail market (GSA) ...next to supermarkets and hypermarkets.

In France, INSEE brings together the hypermarkets under the nomenclature NAF 47.11F, which corresponds to "non-specialised retail sale predominantly of food in stores with a sales area of 2500 m² or more". As for them supermarkets are grouped together under the NAF code 47.11D corresponding to "non-specialised retail trade predominantly in food, with a food turnover exceeding 65% of sales, in stores with a sales area of between 400 and 2,500 m²". In France, large retailers such as Leclerc, Carrefour, Système U, Intermarché and Casino dominate the GSA market (more than 80% market share in value), while hard-discount brands such as Lidl or Aldi account for just under 11% in value.

The signs of the hard-discount are integrated into "supermarkets", although their sometimes smaller size may also bring them closer to certain mini-markets or grocery stores. This study will focus on supermarkets and hypermarkets alone, particularly given the trend towards the move upmarket and the increase in surface area of certain hard-discounters such as Lidl in recent years (see in the study). The traditional hard-discount brands are distinguished by a range of products and services that include cheap and undiversified (limited number of references), mainly via products in private labels (private labels or private labels) for basic consumption. This involves a strategy of low prices : low marketing and communication budget, little effort on product presentation, limited and versatile staff, ..

In France, the hard discount market, in its traditional format, has seen a significant increase in the number of peak in the 2000s but has known for a substantial decline . The "low-cost" hards-discounters model has suffered from the increased competition from major retailers (supermarkets and hypermarkets), which offer prices that are sometimes almost as attractive, and the transformation of consumer purchasing habits and expectations. The digitalization of the sector is also important and attracts consumers via various niches: drive, home delivery, in-store pick-up, etc., where most of the players are present

Faced with this decline, hard-discount retailers, and in particular Lidl in France from 2012 onwards, have tended to turn to the "hard-discount" segment soft-discount or smart-discount The new product range, which involves moving upmarket via a product offer fees and better quality The evolution of Lidl's market share in the GSA market - from 4.7% in 2012 to 5.9% in 2019 - testifies to the success of this renewal. So much so that Lidl, and even Aldi, are no longer necessarily considered as "pure" hard-discount brands, but rather as "pure" hard-discount brands supermarkets or private label stores The borders of the GSA market are being disrupted..