French retailer Casino has reported that second quarter sales dropped 1.9 per cent during the second quarter of 2009, down to €6.82bn, hit by lower petrol prices and lower hypermarket sales in its domestic market.
Sales in France fell 5 per cent to €4.32bn, with international sales jumping 3.8 per cent to help underlying sales excluding petrol and calendar effects 1.1 per cent.
'Sales trends at the hypermarkets showed tangible improvement with same-store sales down 4.2 per cent excluding petrol – versus an 8.6 per cent fall in the first quarter – underpinned by the marketing initiatives launched since the end of March,' the group said in a statement.
The group said that convenience formats in France had performed well, while sales at its discount Leader Price stores were down 6.1 per cent as consumers cut back on purchases.
