General information about CarrefourCarrefour is an international retail chain headquartered in Levallois-Perret, France. Carrefour operates mainly in the European Union, South America, East Asia and North Africa. It is today the leading retail group in Europe and the second largest retail group in the world in terms of turnover after Wal-Mart. Carrefour has 12,547 stores and 456,295 employees in 29 countries around the world. The first Carrefour store was opened in 1960, in Annecy, France and today the original store is still in operation and is the smallest Carrefour site in the world. The Carrefour group pioneered the idea of ​​a "hypermarket", which is a large outlet consisting of both a grocery store and a department store under one roof. Carrefour's first “hypermarket” opened its doors in 1963, in Saint-Geneviève-des-Bois, France. Over the years, Carrefour has created many of its own products and services. Some examples are: in 1976, Carrefour launched their own unbranded product range “Products Libres”, in 1981 they launched their own payment card “la Carte Pass” and in 1984 they launched Insurance Services Crossroads. In its home country of France, Carrefour has seen and continues to see growth and expansion through acquisition of competitors and from within. France is home to 3,857 Carrefour group stores, or approximately 31% of the total number of Carrefour points of sale worldwide. France remains Carrefour's main customer, representing approximately 48% of Carrefour's global turnover, or 77,901 million euros in 2006. Carrefour and its major developments in France The Carrefour group is one of the main French distribution groups . It is the second largest distribution group in the world in terms of turnover after Wal-Mart and the first in Europe and therefore in France. Carrefour stores are very large retail establishments that offer a wide range of products under one roof, including full lines of groceries and general merchandise. The French market is the largest for Carrefour. Indeed, in 2007, Carrefour's turnover in France represented €42,085 million, or more than 45% of its total turnover. The group currently operates four large grocery store formats in France and currently has more than 3,698 stores, owned or franchised. Each of the four different stores targets a specific market and has its own strategy. Below all the stores present in France for each department. - Hypermarkets “Choice and quality for all” Sales area ≥ 2500 m2 Food offer: 3000≤ X ≤ 5000 ref Non-food item offer: 20000≤