French retailer Auchan saw a small drop in hypermarket sales in its domestic market last year, falling 1.3 per cent excluding petrol and same-store sales.
Arnaud Mulliez, head of Auchan's French hypermarket operations, told French publication LSA that the group's hypermarkets had performed better than Carrefour and Géant Casino through 2009, despite difficulties in non-food categories.
Mr Mulliez also noted that the group would cut its investment spending in 2010, down €250m compared with a yearly average of €300m over the past 10 years, imagesfood.com reported.
Auchan will look to reinvent the hypermarket concept on three fronts, Mr Mulliez added, by improving certain categories including fresh produce, by improving operational efficiencies and productivity, and by opening new stores and creating additional sales space.
