Carrefour S.
A
I.
Intorduction
The Carrefour supermarket company is set up by the Fournier, Badin and Defforey
families who run a discount supermarket in Annecy. 1960 Carrefour opens its first
supermarket in Annecy, Haute-Savoie. It is a French multinational retailer headquartered
in Boulogne Billancourt, France, in Greater Paris. x It is one of the largest hypermarket
chains in the world, the fourth largest retail group in the world in terms of revenue and
the third in profit. In 1963,Carrefour invents a new store concept: the hypermarket. The
first Carrefour hypermarket opens in Sainte-Genevive-des-bois, with a floor area of
2,500 sq.m, 12 checkouts and 400 parking spaces.Carrefour operates mainly in Europe,
Argentina, Brazil, China, Dominican Republic, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Lebanon and
Saudi Arabia, but also has shops in North Africa and other parts of Asia, with most stores
being of smaller size than hypermarket or even supermarket. Carrefour means
"crossroads" and "public square" in French. Previously the company head office was
in Levallois-Perret, also in Greater Paris. A pioneer in countries such as Brazil in 1975
and China in 1995, the Group now operates on three major markets: Europe, Latin
America and Asia. With a presence in more than 30 countries, it generates more than
55% of its sales outside France. In April 1976, Carrefour launched a private
label Produits libres (free products libre meaning free in the sense of liberty as opposed
to gratis) line of fifty foodstuffs, including oil, biscuits (crackers and cookies), milk, and
pasta, sold in unbranded white packages at substantially lower prices.
II.
Statement of the Problem
1.
2.
What does interest-rate parity say about international borrowing costs?
Assuming the bonds are issued at par, what is the cost in euros of each of
the bond alternatives?
3. Which debt issue would you recommend?
III.
Swot Analysis
Strengths
Frances largest MGR, with a clear lead over its next largest rivals.
Strong international presence has helped to ensure continued strong sales; robust
sales performance has been seen in Spain, Argentina, Greece, Poland and Romania.
Weaknesses
Has struggled to maintain high French sales growth, in a market characterized by
strong competition and price deflation.
Faces intense competition in some European markets, where well established
national retail brands have rolled out their own discount offerings.
Forced to exit Russian market the difficult operating environment meant the firm
was unable to expand business through acquisitions, meaning the necessary scale
could not be achieved.
Opportunities
Proposed changes to regulations have the potential to revitalize sales in larger retail
outlets.
Major opportunities exist to extend value-added and specialty/niche market
products.
Significant scope to further expand retail footprint, especially in Asia and Eastern
Europe.
Expansion of online business.
Threats
Rising popularity of discount stores threatens core hypermarket business.
Has been targeted by activist investors who feel the firm could do more to unlock the
value of its significant property assets.
http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=f3efe73a-ae20-47d7-a7b590d55d76170e%40sessionmgr115&vid=1&hid=103
http://wenku.baidu.com/view/14112718c5da50e2524d7f48.html - dito naman 2002 yung
context niya mamaya ko na lang I eedit ahh. Sensyaa. 5:30 pa kasi uwi ko ehhh
sa ebscohost to galling. Pwedeng gawing guide di ko pa po na eedit.
