French retail behemoth Carrefour is entering into a franchise collaboration with Dubai-based Apparel Group to establish its footprint in India. The partnership will initially focus on North India, with plans for nationwide expansion and the first stores anticipated to open in 2025, according to a statement released on Friday.
With a population of approximately 1.4 billion, India ranks among the world's largest food markets, further bolstered by increasing consumer purchasing power. Patrick Lasfargues, Carrefour's executive director for international partnerships, stated: "The introduction of Carrefour in India signifies a significant milestone in our strategy to expand our franchise into over 10 new countries by 2026."
Nilesh Ved, the owner of Apparel Group and president of AppCorp Holding, emphasized: "Our objective is straightforward: to provide the finest products at highly competitive prices to all Indian consumers, making Carrefour their preferred shopping destination."
India is currently facing substantial food price inflation, which constitutes nearly half of the overall consumer price index, posing challenges to the nation's rapidly growing economy. Carrefour, one of the world's largest retail chains with over 14,000 stores across nearly 40 countries, previously attempted to penetrate the Indian market through a partnership with a different local retailer but exited in 2014, citing underperformance in the market.
