Carrefour brings ‘Cash & Carry’ to India

Current norms in India do not permit foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail, so French-based Carrefour has begun appointing Indian franchise partners. The company will set up wholly-owned wholesale cash-and-carry outlets in the suburbs of New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai.

“The government has given permission for our own cash-and-carry outlets. It is for front-end operations that we will rope in a partner. All these stores will be branded as ‘Carrefour’,” said Herve Clec’h, managing director, Carrefour Group India.

Offering products at the lowest possible prices will be an important strategy for Carrefour in India. Gerard Freiszmuth, general manager-India project, Carrefour stated: “We will do everything possible to be consistent while offering the lowest prices. So there will be private labels for all kinds of goods, which will allow us to control our margins.”

Carrefour currently sources goods worth €303.4 million from India for its global operations. For the Indian franchises, nearly 90% of the goods will be sourced from India.

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