Duran (Carrefour): “Sustainability not the most important topic”

“Sustainability is important, but not the main topic”, said José Luis Duran, chairman of the board of French retailer Carrefour this afternoon during the ECR Forum in Milan, Italy. “Customers in emerging markets are not demanding the same sustainability issues like shoppers in more mature markets.”

Duran pointed at the future importance of huge emerging markets like Brazil, Russia, India, China, Indonesia and Turkey. Shoppers in these markets may now have different priorities, but they will of course develop new preferences as their markets are developing. “Therefore we need to have a keen eye on sustainability, as both in emerging and developing markets consumers become more demanding”, Duran said.

Health, wellness and organic products are important when it comes to the differentiation the industry needs so badly, but here both retailers and suppliers have to deal with this demanding consumer. “All consumers appreciate the advantages of such products, but only 20 per cent is willing to pay more for the advantages”, Duran said. “Therefore the most important issues are the shopping experience, price and choice.”