Carrefour CEO tests new pricing focus

Carrefour’s new CEO Lars Olofsson is testing a new strategy with the aim of restoring Carrefour’s low-price reputation among consumers. The French retailer is testing a number of initiatives in a store in Villabe, the south of Paris. The store has replaced the small gray and white signs with large yellow discount posters above the aisles, with prices in bold, red print. In the past the retailer’s focus was on quality, with banners bearing the slogan ‘Quality for All’. Now most instore advertising is about price.

Olofsson wants to cut prices and boost price marketing, revive Carrefour’s hypermarkets, partly by tailoring each store to its clientele as well as opening smaller stores. Olofsson said one of Carrefour’s biggest mistakes was its history of inconsistent pricing practices, shifting from comparatively high prices and strong margins to lower prices and larger volumes.