Carrefour Asia profit up following digital 'transformation'
Carrefour opened its "Le Marche" store on Tianshan Road W. in Shanghai this May.
Carrefour Asia, including China's mainland and Taiwan, said operating profit in the first half climbed 1.7 times thanks to digital transformation implemented in China helping the company better cater to local market trends.
The company said in January this year it has entered into a strategic partnership with tech giant Tencent. It is also in the process of negotiating with local supermarket chain operator Yonghui regarding potential investment deals to strengthen local operations.
The French retailer opened its first high-tech store ““Carrefour Le Marche” in Shanghai in May, which is a smaller format compared with regular supermarkets, with features such as self-serve check-outs. Two more Carrefour Le Marche outlets will be opened in Shenzhen later this year.
Further digital transformation is also underway and will be extended to other domestic cities.
Thierry Garnier, executive director of Carrefour Asia, said the company is deepening digital reform and is continuing innovation on the retail front to bring new ideas to other parts of the market.
International supermarket chains are increasingly under pressure from local retailers as well as e-commerce players who are aggressively entering the offline retail sector.
Globally, its first half operating profits climbed 5.8 percent. Like-for-like sales were up 0.7 percent, while Asia sales were down 4.6 percent, with impact brought by strong competition from e-commerce channels in China.
Carrefour currently operates 220 hypermarkets and 39 Easy convenience stores across China.
