Founded in 1992 by Majid Al Futtaim, Carrefour has grown worldwide to become one of the leading hypermarkets pioneering across the Middle East, Asia and Africa. The lucrative business which started as a one’s man’s vision to transform the face of shopping has since grown to become one of the most successful businesses spanning over 230 stores across 15 international markets. It is one of the 7 largest supermarket chains in the world. In this list, we look at 10 amazing facts about Carrefour and why you need to know about this alpha Dog in the supermarket world.
- What’s in a name
Carrefour means “crossroads” in French and is a multinational retailer headquartered in France. Majid Al Futtaim was the first to introduce the supermarkets in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. To date, Carrefour operates in more than 30 countries across these continents.
In Kenya, Carrefour launched its operations in 2016 and currently operates 7 stores located at Two Rivers Mall, The Hub in Karen, Thika Road Mall, The Junction Mall, Sarit Centre, Village Market store and Galleria Mall respectively.
- Exclusive services
Carrefour delivers unbeatable customer choice, quality, value and customer services. It offers exclusive services such as;
- 1-hour free parking.
- Home delivery for large and bulky items.
- Price checker inside the stores.
- Dedicated cash counters for pregnant women and people with disabilities.
- Exchange and refund policy.
- Shopping trolleys with baby seats.
- Price guarantee for the customer in case of a mismatch at the counter.
- Gift vouchers and discounts of 20% minimum, on advertised promotions.
- Who hates a 10x refund
Carrefour is greatly known for its customer service emanating from its pursuit to create great moments for everyone, every time. What you might not know is that if ever you bought a product at Carrefour and found it cheaper elsewhere, Carrefour refunds you, 10 times the difference.
- Innovativeness
With over 30,000 food items across the 7 stores in Kenya, Carrefour applies international hygiene standards to guarantee food safety to its customers. Major practices include First In First Out process, cold chain and expiry date management.
For added convenience, Carrefour will be introducing an exclusive service for customers who spend time in the stores or shopping malls, where the stores are located. This is by developing new concepts, such as commodities counter, milk bar, honey and coffee sold in loose, aquaponic salads among others.
The company will also launch the loyalty program by the end of 2019.
- Keeping it Kenya
21 local farmers supply to the company directly and currently, it has enabled two farmers to export their products to Carrefour overseas.
Carrefour has also set up the first supply chain of fresh sea fish to Nairobi, giving opportunities to small scaled local companies to own this business.
- Buy Kenya Build Kenya
This is a campaign organized every twice a year, in aim to promote products exclusively made in Kenya and support local manufacturers. Moreover, 99% of Carrefour’s suppliers are based in Kenya.
By promoting suppliers’ brands across the stores in promotional areas, Carrefour helps raise suppliers’ standards in terms of quality, hygiene, supply chain and professionalism.
- No strings attached
With a growing population of youths being unemployed or falling in a space called the ‘eternal intern,’ Carrefour’s objective is to recruit all students at the end of their internship.
Inducted students (54) who are trained through an internship program that covers gaps in the Fresh Food department, receive half of their future salary as motivation, (assurance of being retained), with no obligation.
The internship program also offers the Kenyan students’ both local and international exposure equipping them with confidence to pursue careers both locally and internationally.
- We Care
This is a program run by Carrefour to provide services such as career growth, personal finance management, health talks, health screening and staff activities to Carrefour employees.
Carrefour also runs development programmes and regular training for all its employees, regardless of their position or the department they work in. In 2018, Carrefour conducted over 8,000 hours of training and consequently promoted 150 persons within Carrefour’s organization in Kenya.
The company counts a sum of 2100 employees and aims to reach 3,000 by the end of 2019. 98% of the employed staff are Kenyans.
- Online shopping
With the availability of e-commerce through Jumia, you can still enjoy getting the goods and services you want from Carrefour at your own convenience.
- Social responsibility
As a key company who facilitated prompt payment, code of practice development and the ban on plastic bags, Carrefour proposes reusable shopping bags that are exchangeable for free and for life. It has also been conducting workshops with Kenyan Authorities as a member of the Retail Association of Kenya (RETRAK).
The funds collected through customer donations (round up your bill) at the cash counter and from suppliers, sponsor a corporate citizenship program targeting schools.
The first programme gathered over 500 pupils from Mutuini Primary School in Dagoretti whereby pupils visited various Factory facilities (Bidco Africa and Brookside Dairy) with a view of exposing them to the manufacturing process.
They also got the opportunity to appreciate wildlife conservation and culture by visiting Nairobi National Park and Bomas of Kenya.
Carrefour’s objective is to renew this programme on a yearly basis, for schools around each store.
We cannot forget to mention that the company is a consistent taxpayer is still recognized under the large taxpayers’ program.
The thing we love most about Carrefour is the great discounts they have on different items every week. That is what makes Carrefour stand out for us.
Speaking of tax and this being the month to file returns, here’s how you reduce your tax liabilities and navigate through this month stress (tax) free
Featured image via Standard Digital
