2010 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT (3.4 Mo) - Groupe Casino

1PRESENTATION OF THE CASINO GROUPBusiness and strategyIn 2008, to meet consumer demand for modern, convenient shoppingfacilities, Franprix launched a new store concept with a restyled look,a product offering geared more towards fresh produce and snacks,and longer opening hours.In 2010, Franprix continued its ambitious expansion strategy, opening100 new outlets, and its renovation programme. At the end of theyear, it operated a total of 870 stores, more than 50% of which hadbeen upgraded to the new concept.In 2010, Franprix’s business volume (1) totalled €1,980 million.SuperettesThere are three superette banners: Petit Casino, Vival and Spar.Petit Casino is the Group’s historic convenience format. It projectsa friendly, welcoming image and offers an extensive range of foodproducts including high-quality fresh produce. The banner is an integralpart of local life in urban and suburban areas.Vival operates mainly in villages and also projects a friendly, welcomingimage. Alongside a food offering comprising mainly Casino brandgoods, it also offers magazines, newspapers and tobacco productsas well as fax, postal and other services.Spar operates in urban and suburban areas, offering a range offood products as well as services such as photo development, bustickets, etc.Recognised expertise in franchising is one of the key strengths ofthe superette business model. In ten years, the number of franchisestores has increased from none to more than 4,700, mainly underthe Spar and Vival banners. Franchising is an excellent growth driverand also provides a high return on capital.The network comprises 6,675 stores, covering the whole of France.The Group is continuing to expand and optimise the network, opening321 (2) outlets and closing 304 (2) during 2010.With a selling area ranging from 12 to 800 sq.m., the superette storesposted revenue of €1,494 million in 2010.The superettes are continuing their initiatives in the launching of newconcepts. In the past few years, these include the development ofvending machines with Petit Casino 24 and Express by Casino inEsso service stations, as well as the introduction of food corners inairports and train stations. They are also developing new servicessuch as “AlloCLivré”, a new grocery delivery service introduced in2010. Customers can place their orders directly with the store of theirchoice using a toll-free number and the groceries are delivered duringthe same morning or afternoon. The service is free and there is nominimum order. All deliveries are made by electric carrier-tricycle.DiscountLeader Price, the Group’s discount banner, operates in urban andsuburban areas across France. It is aimed at price-sensitive consumersand offers an extensive food range (4,200 items), including freshproduce, frozen goods and a few core regional products, more than90% of which is entirely under the Leader Price own brand and Le PrixGagnant value line label.This distinguishing feature, coupled with low operating costs andinventory requirements, makes Leader Price a very attractivefranchise concept, with almost half of all stores now operated underfranchise.In 2010, Leader Price launched a sales revitalisation programme thatbegan in the first half with significant price cuts supported by increasedadvertising. The second half saw the rollout of a new store concept,the gradual introduction of 250 selected national brand products anda broadened Leader Price private label offering.Expansion also continued apace, with 52 new stores opened duringthe year, bringing the total to 585 at end-December 2010.Leader Price’s business volume (1) in 2010 totalled €2,793 million.HypermarketsGéant Casino’s positioning is based on an enjoyable, comfortableshopping experience in people-friendly stores, whose average sellingarea is 7,000 sq.m. compared with the market standard of about9,000 sq.m. It stands apart from rival banners through its emphasison private-label products, its expanded, prominently displayed freshfood offering, and the development of new non-food universes suchas home decoration and lifestyle.At end-2010, Géant Casino operated 125 hypermarkets, mainly insouthern France.To meet customers’ expectations, and particularly women whorepresent 75% of its shoppers, Géant has been working on renovatingits concept over the past three years with the aim of creating a morewelcoming and more convenient environment. In late 2007, thenew concept was tested in the Pessac hypermarket near Bordeauxand had been extended to almost 30 stores by the end of 2009.The store offering centres on fresh food, private-label products thatprovide good value for money and the fast-growing apparel, homeand leisure segments.Géant Casino has also embarked on an ambitious plan to refocus itsnon-food offering on the more buoyant and profitable apparel, homeand leisure segments. Alongside the refocusing plan, store spaceis being reorganised and scaled down to improve return on capitalemployed. As a result, over 16,000 sq.m. of selling and storage space(more than 1% of the total) are being transferred to Mercialys, withinthe framework of the asset contribution made in 2009 (for furtherdetails, please see “Real estate and investments”, page 13).Another key differentiating factor was the launch of Alcudia in 2008,a plan to capture the value of the Group’s shopping centres throughMercialys, its dedicated shopping mall investment company (pleasesee below for further details on Mercialys).Géant Casino’s revenue amounted to €5,516 million in 2010.E-commerceCdiscount was founded in 1998 and became a Casino Groupsubsidiary in 2000. It is the leading French B to C e-commerce site,posting growth that outperformed its peers in 2010.As a multi-specialist, Cdiscount offers 100,000 items across morethan 40 stores, organised into major universes such as leisure andculture, high-tech, IT, household equipment, footwear and apparel,travel, health and beauty, and services (financing, insurance, videoon-demand,etc.).Since its creation, Cdiscount has cultivated a clear positioning asa specialist in the “Best products at the best prices”. Its success isunderpinned not only by this attractive price positioning but also byits innovative capability, its highly competitive cost structure and itsfast commercial response.In 2010, Cdiscount attracted more than 10 million customers. Itsstrong momentum was reflected in 14.5% organic sales growth to€961 million (€1.1 billion including VAT).(1) Includes all revenue from consolidated companies, associates and franchisees, on a 100% basis.(2) Excluding wholesale outlets.8 Casino Group | Registration Document 2010