French retailer Carrefour to re-enter India after a decade, partnering with Apparel Group

New Delhi: French retailer Carrefour, which operates over 14,000 stores in more than 40 countries, is re-entering India after a decade, in partnership with Dubai-based Apparel Group.

Apparel Group, a retail and lifestyle retailer, has entered into a franchise partnership with Carrefour, to launch the French company's brands in the Indian market.

"This partnership is set to introduce Carrefour’s exclusive brands initially in North India with plans for a nationwide expansion. The first Carrefour locations are planned to open in the NCR Region in 2025," said a joint statement.

Earlier, the French multi-brand retailer exited the Indian market in 2014 by closing its five cash and carry stores spread at Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Meerut and Bangalore.

Carrefour entered India in 2010, when the government permitted foreign retailers like Walmart, Tesco etc to operate in the cash & carry format. However, it had also put a precondition of 30% local sourcing.

Later, Carrefour exited India in 2014 citing a lack of business and its inability to find a partner to expand the business to a multi-brand retail format.

Commenting on the development Nilesh Ved, Owner of Apparel Group and Chairman of AppCorp Holding, said, "In a very dynamic and rapidly changing market for food retail, we plan to open our first Carrefour stores during the summer of 2025. This partnership represents a significant step in strengthening our position in India.”

Patrick Lasfargues, Carrefour's Executive Director of International Partnership, said, “Thanks to this partnership, we are very happy to launch in India and grow our footprint in one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. We will be expanding with multiple formats across the country to adapt to this dynamic country’s retail landscape.

India is now the cornerstone of the Carrefour International Partnership 2026 development plan, marking a significant step forward in our strategy to expand into over 10 new countries by 2026, he added.

Apparel Group is currently operating over 2,300 stores.

It has a presence in the Gulf region including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain. Besides, it has also expanded to markets such as India, South Africa, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Egypt.

Carrefour posted sales of 94.1 billion euros in 2023. Its integrated store network employs more than 300,000 people.