Carrefour ramps up price cuts to boost France sales

Supermarket giant Carrefour is spending more on price cuts as it tries to win back market share, the company said on Wednesday as it announced a slight dip in sales in its core market of France.

Supermarkets across Europe have been under strain as inflation drives consumers to cut back on groceries and seek bargains at discount chains.

"We have decided to double down on price cuts over the coming months and into the end of this year," finance chief Matthieu Malige told reporters on a call.

Inflation is still putting pressure on consumers' disposable income, resulting in falling sales volumes, Malige said, adding that he hopes volumes will turn positive again later this year.

Carrefour stuck to its 2024 targets for higher profits after improving sales in Brazil and hyperinflation in Argentina helped boost overall sales growth in the first quarter.

The company also increased its planned cost cutting for 2024 by 200 million euros ($214 million) to 1.2 billion euros, and Malige said the extra savings would be used to invest in price cuts.

Sales reached 22.156 billion euros, marking like-for-like growth of 13.5%, an improvement from 10.2% growth in the fourth quarter of 2023, and ahead of analysts' expectations.

In France, however, where Carrefour faces tough competition from unlisted rival Leclerc, hypermarket sales were down 1.7% in the first quarter of 2024 compared with a 0.3% rise in the fourth quarter of 2023.

In Brazil, the group's second-largest market, sales rose 1.3% in the quarter, helped by the continued ramp-up of the Grupo BIG stores following their conversion and good performance at the Atacadao cash-and-carry stores.