Basic information about CarrefourCarrefour is an international retail chain headquartered in Levallois-Perret, France. Carrefour operates primarily in the European Union, South America, East Asia and North Africa. It is currently the No. 1 retail group in Europe and the No. 2 retail group globally in terms of revenue, after Wal-Mart. Carrefour has 12,547 stores, 456,295 employees in 29 countries around the world. The first Carrefour store opened in 1960, in Annecy, France and today the original store is still operational and is the smallest Carrefour location in the world. The Carrefour group pioneered the idea of ​​a "hypermarket", i.e. a large retail outlet consisting of a grocery store and a department store under the same roof. Carrefour's first "hypermarket" opened in 1963, in Saint-Genevieve-des-Bois, France. Over the years Carrefour has created many of its own products and services. A couple of examples are; in 1976, Carrefour introduced its own unbranded product line “Produits Libres”, in 1981 it introduced its own “Pass Card” payment card, and in 1984 it launched Carrefour Insurance Services. In its home country of France, Carrefour saw and continues to see growth and expansion through the acquisition of competitors and from within. France is home to 3857 Carrefour group stores, or approximately 31% of the total number of Carrefour stores worldwide. France is still Carrefour's main customer, accounting for approximately 48% of Carrefour's global sales, or 77,901 million euros in 2006.Carrefour and its main developments in FranceThe Carrefour group is one of the main French distribution groups. It is the second largest retail group in the world in terms of turnover after Wal-Mart and the largest in Europe and therefore in France. Carrefour stores are very large retail facilities that carry a huge range of products under one roof, including full lines of groceries and general merchandise. The French market is the largest for Carrefour. Indeed, in 2007, Carrefour's sales in France represented 42,085 million euros, or more than 45% of its total sales. The group currently operates four main grocery store formats in France and currently has over 3,698 stores, directly managed by the company or franchised. Each of the four different stores targets a specific market and has its own strategy. Below are all the shops in France for each section. - Hypermarkets “Choice and quality for all” Sales area ≥ 2500 m2 Food offer: 3000≤ X ≤ 5000 ref Non-food item offer: 20000 ≤