Diversity issues
Carrefour’s story started in 1959 in France and for the first ten years it was solely a
French retailer until its first international expansion into Belgium in 1969 10 . In the past 40 years,
Carrefour kept expanding globally and is now operating in 34 different countriessecuring its 5 Central Intelligence Agency, China,2011, ( April 2011) 6McKinsey Quarterly, An Interview with the President of Carrefour China , 1 March 2006, http://mkqpreview1.qdweb.net/article_page.aspx?ar=1799 (23 June 2011) 7 Carrefour, Company Website , 2011, www.carrefour.com (June 2011) 8 Carrefour, Company Website , 2011, www.carrefour.com (June 2011) 9 Carrefour, China Opening of 100 th Carrefour hypermarket , 2011, http://www.carrefour.com/cdc/group/current- news/china-opening-of-the-100th-carrefour-hypermarket-.html (June 2011) 10 Carrefour, Company Website , 2011, www.carrefour.com (June 2011) representation in three major markets; Europe, Latin America and Asia 11 . In these markets,
Carrefour has over 15,000 stores, employing on average 469,666 people and in 2009, Carrefour incurred Net Sales of 85,963 billion Euros 12 . Part of the success comes from Carrefour’s six successful store models; the hypermarkets, supermarkets, hard discount stores, convenience stores, Cash & Carry, and E-commerce. But one of its main sources of success is its commitment to local suppliers meaning that 90-95% 13 percent of goods are produced locally depending on each country. All of these concepts led Carrefour to become the largest retailer in Europe and the second largest retailer worldwide after Wal-Mart 14 .
Ch ha al ll le en ng ge es s i in n C Ch hi in na a7 74 4
1. Corruption: “Guanxi” exists in China which is based on interpersonal relations that are based on friendship and long-term favor exchanges. This has caused corruption in recent years. 75
2. In order to seek better relations with its employees,
French retailer until its first international expansion into Belgium in 1969 10 . In the past 40 years,
Carrefour kept expanding globally and is now operating in 34 different countriessecuring its 5 Central Intelligence Agency, China,2011, ( April 2011) 6McKinsey Quarterly, An Interview with the President of Carrefour China , 1 March 2006, http://mkqpreview1.qdweb.net/article_page.aspx?ar=1799 (23 June 2011) 7 Carrefour, Company Website , 2011, www.carrefour.com (June 2011) 8 Carrefour, Company Website , 2011, www.carrefour.com (June 2011) 9 Carrefour, China Opening of 100 th Carrefour hypermarket , 2011, http://www.carrefour.com/cdc/group/current- news/china-opening-of-the-100th-carrefour-hypermarket-.html (June 2011) 10 Carrefour, Company Website , 2011, www.carrefour.com (June 2011) representation in three major markets; Europe, Latin America and Asia 11 . In these markets,
Carrefour has over 15,000 stores, employing on average 469,666 people and in 2009, Carrefour incurred Net Sales of 85,963 billion Euros 12 . Part of the success comes from Carrefour’s six successful store models; the hypermarkets, supermarkets, hard discount stores, convenience stores, Cash & Carry, and E-commerce. But one of its main sources of success is its commitment to local suppliers meaning that 90-95% 13 percent of goods are produced locally depending on each country. All of these concepts led Carrefour to become the largest retailer in Europe and the second largest retailer worldwide after Wal-Mart 14 .
Ch ha al ll le en ng ge es s i in n C Ch hi in na a7 74 4
1. Corruption: “Guanxi” exists in China which is based on interpersonal relations that are based on friendship and long-term favor exchanges. This has caused corruption in recent years. 75
2. In order to seek better relations with its employees,