Cheap and practical
Since the summer of 2020, some of Carrefour's hypermarkets have been offering 1, 2 or 3 euro product sections. This type of promotion is not common in Europe and this innovation has brought Carrefour a great profit!
A Carrefour hypermarket in Créteil Soleil, France, opened a sales area in July 2020, a 300-square-meter space with a very high traffic flow where people pick up the items they want, according to Le Parisien. Laurent Berthonneau, Carrefour's food and non-food manager, said: "In the last six months, about a third of Carrefour's customers have shopped here, and it's a great corner for deals. It's amazing to be able to buy goods that are still of good quality at a very low price."
Another 60-80 such shopping corners are planned for 2021
Philippe Fauquet, owner of a 30-year-old Belgian store, pioneered this unique idea in late 2019. Then, in a country where "special promotions" are particularly popular, Carrefour launched a similar shopping corner. The concept immediately became popular in Spain, Poland, Romania and, in the summer of 2020, in France.
In France, there are already 23 hypermarkets and large supermarkets that offer low-cost discount zones, and it plays a huge role. By 2021, between 60 and 80 new discount zones will be open in France. Carrefour Group is also targeting Italy, where more than 300 discount zones are expected to open this year.
"We don't have exact figures so far. Of course, without turnover, you can't calculate how much profit there is. The most important thing is customer satisfaction. In this epidemic crisis, people still want to enjoy themselves, spend a little money and buy themselves something that will make their daily life better," Philippe Fuquaite explains enthusiastically. Here, price plays a crucial role.
Products from Europe or Asia
In the discount section, items priced under 1, 2 or 3 euros are available. Peelers (€0.49), nail clippers (€0.39), glue sticks (€0.89), magic grinder with stand (€0.89), glass bottles (€2.15), umbrellas (€2.69), brushes (€1.39), Polish crystal salad bowls (€2.19). Various branded products such as Dunlop swim goggles (€0.69), Grundig headphones (€1.99) or Stanley glue (€0.80) can be found everywhere in the aisles. In order to purchase this range of products, a team of about 10 buyers from several European countries is doing so. There is no doubt that these products come from Europe or Asia.
In addition, the shopping area marked "top affaires" also offers products that are more expensive than 1, 2 or 3 euros, such as an electric heater for 29.90 euros or an AEG sewing machine for 69.99 euros, but at a much lower price than on the Internet.
30 to 35 percent of the products are updated every two weeks
Not only are the prices cheaper, but the products stay new and the stock changes all the time, "We update on average 30 to 35 percent of new products every two weeks, and it's important to surprise people." Philip Fuquaite said.