these missed opportunities which precipitated the fall of the brand

The numbers are dizzying. In twelve years, Auchan France has lost more than 4 points of market share. The brand now only accounts for 9% of French food purchases, while the leader Leclerc takes more than 24%. Enough to weigh on turnover and Ebitda, which has been divided by six in ten years. In an ultra-competitive sector, where low prices have become the absolute priority of households, the northern brand owned by the Mulliez family is sinking into a serious crisis, which is forcing it to drastically downsize.

The fifth largest food distributor (16 billion annual turnover) has nevertheless attempted, on three occasions, merger operations with competitors which would have reduced its excessive dependence on its very large hypermarkets. This format, born in the 1960s, experienced its golden age in France in the 1970s and 1980s. Long reputed to be the most successful brand in the management of…