Carrefour has announced that overall group sales fell 2.8 per cent during the first quarter (Q1) of the year to €22.7bn, hit in particular by falling sales in France and the rest of Europe, resulting in the first quarterly sales fall for six years.
'Carrefour recorded a resilient first-quarter sales performance in an environment that remains tough, thanks notably to our strengthened commercial dynamics,' said group CEO Lars Olofsson.
French sales fell 5.1 per cent during the three-month period, down to €9.6bn, a result of falling hypermarket and supermarket sales and the 'calendar effect' which saw a day less in February compared with 2008 and Easter falling in April instead of March.
Food sales declined by 2.4 cent in the country, while volumes continued to reflect a shift towards Carrefour-branded products, the group said.
Western European sales (excluding France) dropped 5.2 per cent on 2008, with Spain in particular hit by the economic slowdown to see sales contract 5.6 per cent. Italy (down 5.4 per cent to €1.6bn) and Belgium (down 3.4 per cent to €1.1bn) also endured reduced year-on-year sales during the quarter.
In Asia, overall sales increased 14.7 per cent to €2.13bn, although Chinese sales declined 6.4 per cent on a like-for-like basis. Latin America also saw growth of 3.2 per cent, although sales in Carrefour's largest regional market, Brazil, fell by 3.4 per cent.
Meanwhile, the group opened or acquired a total of 210 new stores through the first quarter, adding an additional 170,000m2 of new space.
'In 2009, we will continue to be on the side of our customers to win market share,' Mr Olofsson added. 'The measures we have initiated to transform our way of operating and reduce our costs will produce their effects mainly in the second half of the year.
'Carrefour teams are currently working on implementing the strategic guidelines we have defined in order to significantly improve the group's performance,' he said.
