Carrefour cuts prices on own brands
1/6/2004 17:48
Carrefour SA , one of the leading hypermarket chains, offered its own
brands at all Chinese outlets at the prices 20-40 percent cheaper than market
prices, the Laodong Daily reported today.
Carrefour provides more than 400
items of its own brands in China in four areas: food, groceries, daily
necessities, and clothes. Sales of Carrefour brands account to between 2 and 4
percent of total sales. A total of 800 such items are expected to hit the market
by the end of this year.
Supermarkets that offer their own brands usually
control the design, raw materials, production and sales by strictly selecting
vendors for production, said an industry analyst.
As business costs and
market expenses are saved, such commodity prices are at least 20 percent cheaper
than others, the analyst added.
Carrefour has high standards for selecting
vendors. For example, the Lion Nathan Beer & Beverage (Suzhou), famous for
producing mid and high-end beers such as Steinlager beer, was selected to
produce beer for Carrefour.
"Our own products offer various options for
consumers, and they are an important part of the existing international retail
industry," said a Carrefour spokesman.
In the French market, 18 percent of
Carrefour's products are of its own brand, and on the global market, the
proportion is six percent.
Wendy Zhang/ Shanghai Daily news
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