BUSINESS STRATEGY

French supermarket group opens its first cash-and-carry in Senegal

By our African Marketing Confederation News Team | 2024

Auchan underlines its African retail ambitions with new sub-brand in Senegal and a move into the Algerian market.

The French-based Auchan supermarket group, which is the dominant player in the sector in Senegal, has opened its first cash-and-carry outlet in the country under the Auchan Max sub-brand.

 

Lionel Allorge via Wikipedia

A no-frills concept, it sells a limited range of FMCG products in bulk at lower-than-supermarket prices. This makes Auchan Max more of a wholesale outlet serving commercial buyers, including foodservice and local traders. 

 

The first Auchan Max outlet in Senegal is, perhaps surprisingly, not located in busy Dakar, but in quieter Saly – a tourist community about a two-hour drive south of the capital city. It is being speculated that this is to test proof of concept and determine if cash-and-carry stores will take sales away from Auchan’s two local full-service supermarkets. 

 

Competing with Auchan Max in Senegal’s cash-and-carry market is the Supeco store brand, which was launched in 2019 by CFAO, a company that also operates the Carrefour supermarket franchise in francophone West Africa and has additional Superco outlets in Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire. 

 

Africa division seeks new opportunities on the continent 

 

Already well-established in Senegal, Auchan last year established an Africa division based in the country. Its role is to extend the brand across the continent, according to a report by the business news website Africa Business+. 

 

It is moving into Algeria through a partnership with the Great Way Group, a retail player operating in the Maghreb region. 

 

This will see the opening of a 5,000 square-metre Auchan hypermarket in the capital city of Algiers, operated by the Great Way Group. 

 

“To continue and expand our development in Africa, we are entering into a responsible partnership with one of Algeria’s leading retailers,” Yves Claude, Chairman and CEO of Auchan Retail, said at the time of the announcement last year. 

 

“We share a three-fold ambition: offering residents a novel shopping experience; offering them products that are good for their health and for the planet; and contributing to Algeria’s development, as far as we can, by encouraging the creation of agricultural value chains and local food production.” 

 

Yasser Hadjbenali, Executive Director of the Great Way Group, said in his own statement: “Our collaboration also seeks to provide an innovative, modern and exclusive customer experience, featuring services never previously seen in the Algerian market.  

 

“Auchan is the ideal partner to achieve this ambition of creating a new generation of competent, modern and forward-looking Algerian retailers.” 

 

Auchan has a retail presence in several markets. These include France, Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Hungary and Taiwan. 

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    Dr. Kin Kariisa is an extraordinary force at the helm of Next Media Services, a conglomerate encompassing NBS TV, Nile Post, Sanyuka TV, Next Radio, Salam TV, Next Communication, Next Productions, and an array of other influential enterprises. His dynamic role as Chief Executive Officer exemplifies his unwavering commitment to shaping media, business, and community landscapes.
    With an esteemed academic journey, Dr. Kariisa’s accolades include an Honorary PhD in exemplary community service from the United Graduate College inTexas, an MBA from United States International University in Nairobi, Kenya, a Master’s degree in Computer Engineering from Huazong University in China, and a Bachelor’s degree in Statistics from Makerere University.
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    Dr Kin did his PhD research in Computer Security and Identity Management at Security of Systems Group, Radbond University in Nigmegen, Netherlands. He previously served as a lecturer of e-Government and Information Security at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda and Radbond University in Netherlands.

    Dr Kin did his postgraduate courses in Strategic Business Management, Strategic Leadership Communication and Strategies for Leading Successful Change Initiatives at Harvard University, Boston USA.

    • Other current and previous roles played by Dr Kin Kariisa:
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