Would you like to buy your sausages in packs of 25, or your rice in 5 kg format but at low prices? Then Carrefour’s successful Brazilian format, Atacadão, which should open its first store in Île-de-France in September 2023, could be for you!
Get used to this name, because it won’t change. In Brazil, where Alexandre Bompard’s group generated 24% of its sales in the third quarter of 2022 – this country is the group’s second driving force, after France – these large warehouse stores, acquired in 2007, and in which the products are piled up on pallets or in boxes stacked sometimes up to the ceiling, are popular with both low-income families and the middle class. Professionals, in particular restaurateurs and small traders, also have access to it.
A concept that is very similar to that of Costco, already present in France. With the difference that at Atacadão, there is no subscription. The leading wholesaler in Brazil, Atacadão, which employs no fewer than 60,000 people there and is present in more than 170 cities, currently has 258 “cash and carry” stores open seven days a week. Carrefour plans to have 470 in the whole country, as big as the European Union, within four years.
The more you buy in large quantities, the lower the prices
The key to success ? Very few references are offered – around 9,000, compared to 40,000 for a traditional hypermarket – but presented in the form of very large packaging. Better: the more you buy in large quantities, the lower the price. Professionals can even buy an entire palette! Prices are on average 10 to 15% cheaper than in a traditional store.
No promotions, Atacadão has low prices all year round. To achieve this result, the buyers of this mastodon are real traders, who negotiate the prices of rice, sugar, milk, but also beer as accurately as possible – all essential references in Brazil. Another specificity: the bulk of the shelves are supplied by second brands on the market. Finally, the company also operates in e-commerce, integrating into its own online sales channel a solid marketplace, with more than 300 partner sellers.