Expansion in France

In direct contrast to the majority of food retailers in France, Centres E. Leclerc have succeeded in growing their non-food activities. Altogether the group’s 643 outlets in Europe achieved sales growth of 6.7 per cent in 2008 for a total of € 34.7 bn. Hypermarkets accounted for € 25.8 bn of this sum and an increase of 4.3 per cent. The specialist sales formats, including the 76 Brico-Jardin DIY stores, made an 18 per cent contribution to the growth figure. Ten Brico-Jardin outlets are expected to open this year.