Business Case Studies, Leadership Case Study, Tata Group,Ratan Tata

Code : COM0049

Year : 2005

Industry : Retailing

Region : France

Teaching Note:Available

Structured Assignment :Available

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Introduction:Carrefour was one of the world's leading retailers, second only to Wal-Mart of the US. It was by far the biggest retailer in Europe, easily outstripping other major retailing chains like Germany's Metro and Dutch Ahold in terms of sales turnover. In the late twentieth century, Carrefour entered new markets and opened new stores at a rate faster than any other competitor to create the world's most extensive retailing empire.

Early 21st century, a decade of poor economic conditions in many of Europe's key economies had led to consumers becoming increasingly cost conscious. They began to prefer purchasing at discount chains like Aldi and Lidl of Germany at the expense of the hyper markets. Falling sales in many lucrative markets including its home country France, forced Carrefour to pull out of key markets in a bid to cut its losses. At the same time, Carrefour also continued its global expansion drive by entering into new markets. Daniel Bernard, CEO of Carrefour, enforced several competitive measures in an attempt to fight back and regain Carrefour's lost market share. However, intense competition, takeover threats, and growing uncertainty caused by changing government regulations hindered the successful implementation of Carrefour's turnaround plans.