We have identified here cost reduction EUR 3

Six months after his taking office, the Director General of Carrefour announced a strategic plan for the group. Based on seven initiatives, this "transformation" plan must ensure a "better growth and profitability", says Lars Olofsson. It should identify 4.5 billion euros in savings by 2012.

Six months after your service, what is your strategic plan for the Group

To make solutions, needed to leave factual analysis. I've prepared a report and defined an ambition for Carrefour: become a dealer preferred in the countries where we are located. What may seem innocuous contains actually very heavy implications, on that group must be on the way must work teams. We have set a goal to achieve, together, increased growth and profitability. And to achieve this, we launched seven initiatives. Three are centered around the customer and the consumer: energize the Carrefour brand, optimize the price image and reinvent the hypermarket. Four are internally-oriented: formalize and disseminate good practices, redefining the Organization of the group, consolidate operating model and create the best performance of purchase.

To implement, can support you the current teams

Yes, but we will work differently. This group was not used to work as a team and I put the time to make sure that we had experts and managers to complete the implementation of this plan. We have also had recourse to external expertise to initiate the dynamics as Carrefour is moving from a culture of conqueror of performance contractor. Now, each Member of the Executive Committee is "sponsor" of a site, to which are assigned the best human resources. Extremely clear objectives have been set with suitable remuneration systems. At each meeting, the Executive Committee spends half his time to assess the progress of the files. At the same time as the company progresses, the teams will certainly evolve.

What is your priority

For me, the order of priorities is not debatable: growth comes before profitability. Which must translate into gains in market share. We must do better than others. For the first time in France for three years, we have thus won ground to competitors in the first half.

Hypermarkets are at the heart of the problem of Carrefour. Where are you your reflection on this store format

Our purpose is not to affirm only as the leader of the hypermarket in the world, but to have a brand that customers love and prefer on all our formats. In this regard, sites of change of sign of Carrefour Market Champion, Shopi in hub City and development of products in our brands, with including the launch of the Carrefour Discount are fundamental steps. On the hypermarket is one on which we have the less advanced, because it is an urgent need to take the time to the reflection. In France, we have 228 stores. A simple way to improve their financial performance would be to lease part of the larger surfaces, or even to develop specialized shops subcontracted in the store itself. But this would mean that we would be unable to do better. Before activating this plan B, we need to study the proposals that we will make this initiative team to really improve our performance. New concepts will be tested in 2010, before a deployment in 2011. In addition, and without delay, we have identified seven oversized hypermarkets which, this year, we will entrust the commercialization of a party to Carrefour Property to rent square metres released signs capable of creating still more traffic in malls. Despite this, we maintain the turnover of these stores.

How to change the other networks

For the former Champion supermarkets past Carrefour Market, the evolution of turnover on a comparable is 6 to 8 points higher than the store unprocessed. I confirm that we will have switched all points of sale held by the group in October. In Junction City, where it saves progressions of the order of 30, we took the decision to deploy the sign that will be proposed in September to eligible franchisees.

And the passing of Ed at Dia for your maxidiscomptes stores

Four weeks after transformed two stores Ed in Dia Market, and very strong growth, I have decided to deploy in France this sign that works very well in Spain where, despite a difficult market, it is better than our main competitor. I have not the slightest doubt as to its success. Format hard discount definitely has its place in our multi-format strategy.

Carrefour is almost absent from the trade on the Internet. How to return to the race

So far, not only we have failed but still we have accumulated a considerable delay. This will be easy for Carrefour the bridge alone. This is the reason for which I can rely on external growth.

How to reconcile all these sites with the savings that require difficult times

For 2009, my priorities are focused on customer orientation, cost reduction and optimization of cash. As such, we have preferred the more profitable investments, and have limited them to EUR 2.5 billion. For the moment, nothing says that he must invest less, but one thing is certain: we will not invest!

And what to expect in terms of savings

With regard to the long term, the implementation of our transformation initiatives will enable us to identify important gains, of the order of 4.5 billion euros. We have identified here cost reduction EUR 3.1 billion in 2012: 500 million this year, 450 next year, 550 in 2011 and 600 million the following year for a total of 2.1 billion. We will act on several levers: supply chain, stores, the support functions and organization. The extra billion will come from optimization of purchases by better cooperation with our key suppliers, assortment optimization and the advent of our purchases of Carrefour products. These actions that have an impact on the income, are added on the reduction of stocks that will improve the balance of EUR 1,4 billion. Our goal is to move from 37 to 30 days by 2012.

How much will this transformation plan cost

The implementation of this transformation plan will require investments to the tune of EUR 500 million up to 2012, and exceptional charges of an amount of EUR 1 billion.

What will be the impact on the workforce

This will have an impact on how we work to the extent we will profoundly change our mode of operation. In transforming crossroads today, we will be simpler, more agile and better tomorrow.