Carrefour targets 50 India stores in three-year expansion

Carrefour plans to open 50 stores in India within three years. The French retail giant is executing this expansion through a partnership with the Apparel Group, marking its return to the country after exiting in 2014.

Nilesh Ved, Chairman of APPCORP Holding and Owner of Apparel Group, confirmed the three-year target for the 50-store network. The first consumer-facing store opened in Greater Noida in August, spanning more than 50,000 square feet and stocking over 15,000 product lines. A second, much smaller store of about 10,000 square feet is scheduled to open in the Delhi-NCR region in October.

Store formats and cluster strategy

The expansion will not feature the large-format hypermarkets Carrefour is known for globally. Instead, the partnership is focusing on a mix of compact hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience stores, and gourmet formats. Patrick Lasfargues, Executive Director of International Partnership at Carrefour, stated the company will not go for large hypermarkets. He said the strategy will be fueled by adding e-commerce and quick commerce capabilities.

The strategy is built around clusters, starting with the Delhi-NCR market. To accelerate its footprint, Carrefour is open to acquiring existing retail businesses. Lasfargues said the company would consider businesses where owners are facing execution or family-related challenges.

Developing local private labels

A core aim of building scale is to make private labels viable. Carrefour plans to start developing local private labels across food and non-food categories within the next 9 to 18 months, once it reaches a critical mass. In France, private labels account for around 37 percent of the retailer's turnover, according to Lasfargues.

The India opportunity extends beyond domestic shelves. Carrefour is looking to export private-label products made in India to its international markets. Lasfargues said the venture is looking to export within the next five years. The strategy centrally involves combining Carrefour's global sourcing and international capabilities with Apparel Group's local market knowledge, supplier network, and real estate expertise.

Omnichannel and profitability focus

The business is being designed as an omnichannel operation from the start. Apparel Group plans to build an integrated ecosystem of physical stores, technology, modern logistics, and local partnerships. E-commerce and quick commerce orders will eventually be serviced from the back-end of the physical stores. Lasfargues described this as a hybrid model starting from the stockrooms at the back of stores.

Despite the ambitious expansion, Carrefour is emphasizing profitability over the rapid land-grab approach seen elsewhere in Indian retail. Lasfargues stated the company is committed to keeping investments on the right track to ensure profitability. Globally, Carrefour stores typically take 1.5 to 3 years to break even, though the company believes its India venture could potentially reach breakeven faster.

Confidence in a changed market

The confidence stems from a perception that India's economic landscape has transformed since Carrefour's 2014 exit. Lasfargues pointed to GDP growth, a young population, and rising consumption aspirations as factors making it a different India.

For its partner, the Carrefour venture is one part of a broader growth story. The Apparel Group already operates more than 300 stores across 50 Indian cities under over 20 brands. Globally, it has more than 2,600 stores and 85 brands. The group is targeting $1 billion in revenue from India over the next five years, alongside expanding its overall store network in the country.

Carrefour brings immense scale to the partnership. The Carrefour International Partnership division manages over 4,000 franchised stores in more than 30 countries. The wider Carrefour Group operates more than 15,000 stores worldwide, reported sales of €91.5 billion in 2025, and employs over 300,000 people.