In 2020, the announcement of a voluntary departure plan for more than 500 positions in January, followed by the elimination of nearly 1,500 positions in September, had a strong impact on the employees of the northern distributor of the Mulliez galaxy, Auchan. Convened, Tuesday, November 5, near Lille (North) by the central social and economic committee (CSEC) in several group entities, in order to take “an update on the situation of the company and its projects”, the unions finally discovered that this “point”, presented by the new strong man of the brand, Guillaume Darrasse, included a new social plan, of even greater scope.
In total, 2,049 jobs would be eliminated (also taking into account job creation) in this group which currently has more than 53,000 employees. At headquarters, the pooling of support functions between the Auchan France and Auchan International entities will impact 784 positions (out of approximately 4,000). The reorganization in stores will affect 915 positions. The hypermarkets in Clermont-Ferrand Nord (Puy-de-Dôme), Bar-le-Duc (Meuse) and Woippy (Moselle) will be closed, as will the Aurillac supermarket (Cantal) and six convenience stores (466 items). ). The three warehouses which managed Auchan Direct orders will also be closed, with home delivery transferred to drives.
Having worked with Leclerc and Système U, Guillaume Darrasse is shaking up the drifting boat that is Auchan, which has gone from 11.5% to 9.1% market share since 2012. Very far from the leading trio E.Leclerc (24, 1%), Carrefour (21.4%) and Intermarché (17.4%), and behind Coopérative U (12.2%).
Private label products expected to increase from 25% today to 50% in 2030
The flaws of the ch'ti distributor have been known for a long time: an over-representation of large hypermarkets (on average twice as large as the U or Leclerc hypermarkets), which are losing momentum. A low yield per square meter: “A little less than 8,000 euros at Auchan, compared to 8,500 euros at U and 9,500 euros at Leclerc,” recalls Guillaume Darrasse who also emphasizes that the payroll at Auchan Retail is twice higher than competitors. Over the first half of 2024, the group's parent company, Elo, announced a loss of nearly 1 billion euros. “Auchan cannot remain in this state”, estimates the general director of Auchan Retail, for whom only a hunt for costs will make it possible to free up the financial room for maneuver aimed at relaunching sales.
Hence these significant cuts in terms of employment. “Support in finding internal or external solutions, retraining, reclassification leave, voluntary departure plans, everything will be done to limit, ultimately, outright job cuts. Historically, redundancies have always been reduced,” wants to reassure Guillaume Darrasse, who wants this reorganization plan to be completed “in 2025”.
At the same time, several major projects have been launched or confirmed. In addition to the purchasing alliance already announced with Intermarché for a period of ten years – which should allow greater influence on negotiations with manufacturers – the reduction in the size of hypermarkets will be initiated, to arrive at a target surface area of 8,000 m2. The first stores, completely overhauled, should be operational “in the spring”. On the shelves, private label products are expected to increase from 25% today to 50% in 2030.
Textiles, home, household appliances… The offer will be completely redesigned, in order to be more in line with consumer expectations. In terms of price, above all, the shift should be visible: if, this year, Auchan stores have reduced their labels by around 2%, that is “not enough”, judges Guillaume Darrasse, who wants to be “cheaper than Carrefour and at a reasonable distance from Leclerc”. Suffice it to say that the shareholders of this family group will be asked to finance this costly price relaunch, and that they will have to keep this price commitment over time.
