Carrefour Express customers across the UAE will notice a positive change in their local supermarkets. Sacks of fresh fruit and vegetables; a wide variety of dairy products; and professional butchers and fishmongers selling the freshest ingredients will be the focal point of the supermarkets.
Throughout June and July, the world’s second largest retailer will be rebranding the current 16 Carrefour Express stores across the UAE to ‘Carrefour Market’ supermarkets, in order to highlight the range of quality, fresh products to entice customers through the doors.
Franck Rouquet, Carrefour’s Supermarket Regional Manager for the UAE, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait, says Carrefour Market is offering more than basic products, and customers will immediately see a difference. “Our customer demographic is constantly changing and evolving along with their requirements from a local supermarket. The Carrefour Market-model is already well-established internationally, and we saw an opportunity to introduce it to the GCC, which is a region with huge growth potential for the company.
“In general, customers perceive Carrefour Express as a quick-stop, convenience store where they can purchase a range of basics groceries – but don’t necessarily associate it with fresh ingredients and choice.”
With the emphasis moving from basic grocery items to fresh produce of the highest quality, Carrefour Market is looking to differentiate itself from other supermarkets in the region by being a practical, weekly shopping destination.
Produce in-store at Carrefour Market supermarkets will centre on fresh, high-quality food products with bread baked in-store, butchers and fishmongers on hand and daily deliveries straight to the supermarket shelves. Product ranges will also be introduced on a store-by-store basis to accommodate the needs of the immediate surrounding community.
Franck Rouquet continues, “Customers receive a number of offers and promotions that are available in the larger Carrefour hypermarkets now at their local neighbourhood supermarket. Carrefour always aims to be the supermarket offering the cheapest prices in the immediate area in which we operate, with the widest variety of products.
“We anticipate that people will take advantage of Carrefour Market supermarkets on a daily or weekly basis to top-up their larger, monthly shopping trips, as Carrefour supermarkets are designed to be complementary shopping environments with Carrefour’s hypermarkets.
“All Carrefour Market supermarket employees receive specialised training and we hope that our customers will appreciate a more personal service from our in-store staff,” adds Mr Rouquet.
Recognized as one of the most active shopping concept developers in the region, the Majid Al Futtaim group first introduced the Carrefour hypermarket model to the Middle East in 1995.
