Will the hypermarket model disappear in France

Butcher or cheese dairy for evening meals, bakery or premiere for lunch, Amazon or Darty for household appliances… Consumers are increasingly framing their purchases, which calls into question the long dominant model of generalist supermarkets.

Unfaithful consumers …

“The cake of large food areas is being reduced,” worried the boss of Cooperative U, Dominique Schelcher at the end of February, when the fourth French food distributor presented his annual activity report. “Through the fragmentation, the consumption of our customers escapes towards other circuits. »»

These other circuits can be ultra -fresh specialists such as the Grand Frais brand, craftsmen bakers or butchers, discounters like the Dutch Ogre Action…

The Kantar design firm estimates that a “French household frequent on average 9 different brands”.

Just for food, Andrea, 29 -year -old Bordeaux executive, favors three. For bulky races, she goes to Leclerc Drive, she explains, “it’s simpler and faster than going to store”, prices are “competitive” and then “it forces me to buy the essentials and not be attempted” in store.

She also frequents the “small crossroads” near her house for troubleshooting and fruit races, which are “good and with good value for money”.

And she goes to Lidl for small household appliances, decoration and components of her sporting diet – “blanc cheese, oatmeal, dried fruits, peanut butter. Because I find that they have good products in this area and for attractive prices, ”says the Bordeaux.

… but apparently expertise

In 2019, large areas captured 57.5 % of French food expenses. Five years later, this share fell to 54.3 %, for the benefit of “other circuits”, from 17.9 to 21.9 %, according to Circana.

The shortfall for general distributors was 8 billion euros between 2019 and 2024, figure Emily Mayer, director market analysis at Circana.

Among the winners, in addition to those already mentioned, Ms. Mayer evokes specialists in organic farming or coffee, “experts in their field”, and “life facilitators” as the online merchant Picnic, who delivers at home at a competitive price.

Neverflow of some general practitioners

For Jean-Paul Mochet, Chairman of the Management Board of the Prosol group (fruit pole, vegetables, fish and creamy from the Grand Frais brand), this offset is partly explained by a lesser attention from certain generalists.

“In some supermarkets or hypermarkets, traditional or fresh rays have been reduced to the congruent portion, which leaves space for specialists,” said the one who before prosol has worked 22 years for the Franprix and Monoprix brands of the Casino group.

In Pré-Saint-Gervais and Pantin, in the Parisian suburbs, rather “bobo”, small supermarkets with appetizing names, “Julienne”, “Miyam” and “Toutbon”, have flowered in recent years, trying to compete with the quality and prices of the generalists in the sector, notably Monoprix.

“Our model is to allow customers to do all their shopping in the store, with the codes of large retailers: self-service on everything and good value for money,” explains Laurent Guardiola, installed between laundry packets and potatoes in his small discount.

He has just launched a second “Julienne” in Aubervilliers, still in Seine-Saint-Denis, and nourished great ambitions. The multiplication of competitors did not have an impact on its activity, he explains to AFP, judging the “additional offers”.

Always crucial price factor

Miyam also gave the bet of an “affordable price approach so that the maximum number of people can consume organic and durable, by limiting intermediaries so as not to damage the producer”, explains to AFP Elie Sebbag, its co -founder.

Five years after its launch, the brand has seven stores in Paris and near a suburbs and ensures that everyone is profitable.

Specialist in large distribution, Philippe Goetzmann sees in the fragmentation of purchases a societal dimension: consumption is less and less homogeneous according to the standard of living of course, but also age, personal convictions or the place of residence.

The hypermarket selling everything under the same roof is in his eyes a legacy of the strong years of growth. “In a society that stops growing, individuals or even communities will assert themselves, with the desire to differentiate themselves. »»

Economic actors adapt and the brands that have emerged for fifteen years are only “very rarely brands that are aimed at everyone”. With the exception of low price experts, a key argument taken into account by many households.

With AFP.

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