Auchan

Auchan is a French group of Distribution and Finance founded by Gerard Mulliez and directed by him until in 2006. Since, the presidency of the group is taken by Vianney Mulliez, nephew of Gerard Mulliez and former president d' Immochan.

History

1961, opening of the first store with Roubaix in an unused textile factory Phildar of 600 m² in the district of the High fields (from where the name).

For the anecdote, the choice of the letter " A" initial was wished by the founders to appear in first place in the directories and repertories. Gerard Mulliez, wire of the creator of Phildar, is pressed on the councils of Edouard Leclerc for its first supermarket. This store has being given up in the years 1980 because it competed with the new built store with Leers. It was repurchased by the group Intermarché. The building was shaven to leave room to a more modern store in 2003.

1967 Auchan opens its first hypermarket with Roncq (Northern).
1969: Auchan invents the concept of the shopping mall with Englos in the suburbs of Lille.
1976, creation of Immochan, real subsidiary company of the group.
1981, creation of Alcampo, in Spain
1983, Creation of the Bank Agreement, bank subsidiary of the group.
1989, opening of the first hypermarket in Italy.
1996, repurchase of the group Docks of France, present in France with the signs Mammoth and Atac, in Spain with sign Sabeco, in Portugal with CAM of Açucar under the sign Jumbo.

Until 1996 Auchan had the average of the highest surface of stores of France, but with the purchase in 1996 of Docks of France this average strongly dropped.
Always in 1996, Auchan opens hypermarkets with the Luxembourg and in Poland.

1997, partnership with the Italian group Rinascente.
1998, opening of a hypermarket in Hungary.
1998, opening of a hypermarket in Thailand.
1999, opening of a hypermarket in China.
2001, repurchase of the hypermarkets Taiwanese of RT Mart and Auchan is combined with ONA with the Morocco under the sign Marjane and in China with RT Mart.

Always in 2001, Auchan opens the first supermarkets in Poland, and repurchases the stores Billa, which will take the name of a new sign: Elea.
The Bank Agreement is established in Poland and Spain.

2002, creation of the sign Acima Morocco and opening of the first Auchan hypermarkets in Russia.

Opening of the Italian subsidiary company of Bank Agreement, Italia Agreement.

2004, reorganization of the Group in 4 divisions: Hypermarket S, Supermarket S, Banks Agreement and Immochan.

In Italy, Auchan repurchases with the Groupe Ifil the totality of the food activities of Rinascente.

2005, creation of the signs of Atak supermarkets in Russia and A-tak in Poland.
Ouverture of the Russian subsidiary company of Bank Agreement, BA Finans.
In 2006, Vianney Mulliez succeeds Gerard Mulliez with the presidency of the board of trustees of the group.

Opening of a hypermarket in Romania.

2007, partnership with the Ukrainian distributer Furshet, resale of the participation of 49% in the joint venture in Morocco in its partner the ONA.

Concept

The Auchan group supports an esthetics “Spartan” for his stores - narrow rays, little or not of decorations of the stalls, etc -, exploiting the fact that such an esthetics should convey an image discount . Since the appearance of signs such as Lidl, Aldi, Leader Price, etc, Auchan tries to modify this image and renovates its stores to make of them places of life - from where the slogan life, true the - given up in 2007 -, without to give up the basic idea completely.

Auchan generally has great land reserves around its stores, via its Immochan subsidiary company, in which the current president in the group is originating, Vianney Mulliez. This makes it possible the company to manage the coherence of the galleries or the commercial surfaces surrounding its stores and thus to support the signs of its group, creating a coherent strategy of retail park.

Structure of the company

Auchan

The Auchan group has as a principal shareholder the Family association Mulliez, rested and directed by the Mulliez family, family of the Northern of the France.

The participation in the Auchan group is most important of the association which counts also shares in other signs as Banque Agreement, Décathlon, Leroy Merlin, Kiabi, Norauto, Boulanger, Saint Maclou, 3 Swiss, Flunch, Alinéa, GrosBill…

The second shareholder of the group is Gerard Mulliez with personal capacity, the balance (13,5%) is held by the employees of the sign. Indeed, after the installation of the participation in 1968, and of a premium of progress in 1972, Gerard Mulliez chooses to open the capital of Auchan to his employees in 1977. This operation, Valauchan , meet a great success with 97,2% of the holding personnel of the shares. The developed share with 1,88€ in 1977 is worth 275€ in 2006. Auchan counts today: 52000 employee-shareholders, is 98% of the employees.

The group is not with dimensions, the sale or the exchange of actions is not possible that between these three parts. This strategy, wanted by Gerard Mulliez, preserved the group of any attempt at repurchase.

Its turnover borders the 40 billion euros including all taxes, including nearly 40% realized abroad. In France, the turnover of the hypermarkets was of 18 billion euros including all taxes in 2004.

Eurauchan

However, the Auchan group is organized around a power station of referencing, exploited by the company Eurauchan . This power station is founded in 1996 on the remainders of oldest the French Purchasing group Paridoc , following the repurchase of Dock of France by the Auchan group. The Group Schiever, former shareholder of Paridoc, remained in Eurauchan .

A franchized company of the Auchan group

The Groupe Schiever is a franchized company of the Auchan group. Old frankness from the group Dock of France , the Schiever group returned in the bosom of Auchan at the time of the repurchase of this first in 1997.

Auchandirect

Auchandirect is the Cybermarché group of Large distribution French Auchan.

According to Médiamétrie, in 2005, Auchandirect is the second site of supermarkets on line more visited in France behind Telemarket.

Establishment in the world

Today, Auchan is one of the independent groups of distribution in the world. It is present in 11 countries and employs 175.000 collaborateurs.
Auchan counts 377 hypermarkets, 666 supermarkets, 2027 supermarkets and mini-markets in the world but also 120 hypermarkets in France.

Auchan is present in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg, Poland, Hungary, Russia, China, Taiwan and Romania The group also underwent failures in particular with the the United States, in Argentine and in Morocco.

The ensigns of the group are:

In France: 121 Hypermarket Auchan (including 5 Markets of Auchan), 292 Supermarkets Atac and Simply Market, Auchan Drive, At the Market Bulk, Easy Gone, Direct Auchan (cybermarché), Auchan Telecom, Auchan Voyage, Banks Agreement, Grosbill, Chronodrive.
In Spain: 47 Hypermarket Alcampo, 123 Sabeco Supermarket, Immochan Spain, Accordfin, 100 store of Proximity Aro Rojo.
In Italy: 42 Auchan Hypermarkets and 266 supermarkets with the signs SMA supermercati or Cityper (Sma), Auchan, Auchan Gallery, IoVorrei, Simply Market, Pracchi, Bottega, Europa Europa, Cartaccord.
In Poland: 21 Hypermarkets Auchan (including 4 of joint venture), Elea (supermarket), A-tak (supermarket discount). , Accord Finances, Immochan.
In Taiwan: 19 Hypermarkets RT Mart, Apic, Save and Safe.
In Portugal : 18 Hypermarkets Jumbo.
In China: 15 Auchan Hypermarkets and 71 Hypermarkets RT Mart.
In Russia: 14 Hypermarkets Ашан (Auchan), 10 Supermarkets Атак (Atac).
In Hungary: 10 Hypermarkets Auchan, Magyarorszàg Agreement.
In Luxembourg: 1 Auchan Hypermarket.
In Romania: 1 Auchan Hypermarket.
In Morocco : Following a conflict with its Moroccan partner (ONA), Auchan resold its participation of 49% in August 2007 to him.

See too

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