Carrefour: Slowdown in France as Inflation-Driven Growth Subsides, but Volumes Still Pressured

Carrefour reported a first-quarter trading update, with group like-for-like sales up 13.5%. Within this, France reported negative 0.4% like-for-like growth in the quarter, reflecting lower inflation and price investments with volumes remaining under pressure and nonfood sales continuing to underperform (down 7.5%). Supermarket and convenience store sales were flat, while sales in hypermarkets were down 1.3%. Notably, Carrefour's private-label brand now accounts for 37% of food sales (versus 35% in first-quarter 2023), which is in line with evidence from European peers reporting private-label outperformance.