Sector of large distribution

The sector of large distribution is the whole of the regroupings of retail businesses of Consumer goods. These groupings are horizontally integrated so, to profit from a communication and a common Brand image, possibly of services and/or a force of purchase. The whole of each one of these regroupings some are their integrated bonds, , co-operative or franknesses, constitute the base of a vertical Intégration being able to cover, in addition to the function of wholesale purchase, the Logistique and/or the Production of goods.

History

XVIIIème century: precursors

  • Alexandre Balthazar Laurent Grimod of Reynière was not only one informed gastronome but also a tradesman. Admittedly this lawyer became one by need about it but it was inventive by imagining the principle of direct purchase to the producer and of sale at fixed price of varied goods energy of the grocer to the hardware store with some exotic food products.

From 1800 to 1915: old forms of large distribution

Branch managers and co-operatives of consumption

See also: Co-operative of consumption

Although of different inspiration and origin these two systems were developed by using the principle of wholesale purchase starting from a central warehouse distributing the goods to sales outlets.

  • Robert Owen, a Welsh industrialist, imagines at the beginning of the 19th century the first Coopérative of consumption which it implements in the cotton-spinning that it directs to New Lanark in Scotland. Started from a movement mixing Utopisme and Socialism in Great Britain, the principle is blown after having had a sharp success to know a renewal towards 1840 which will be diffused in all Europe. The Bénéfice is abolished, the producers sell directly to the consumers via the co-operative by preserving the use of the currency.
  • Felix Potin opens its first store in 1844 with Paris. It will open thereafter other establishments under the same ensign selling at fixed prices and posted, it will be the beginning of the succursalism. The goods are prepackaged in its factories instead of being received in bulk in the shops and packed on the spot by the grocers. This principle will be taken again successfully with the the United States, by Franklin Winfield Woolworth and its brother, in 1879 year of opening of their second store and will give rise to the chain of shops Woolworth' S developing with the passage the concept of store popular.

Department stores

See also: department store

  • Birth of the department stores in 1852 with Bon Marché transformed by Aristide Boucicaut, with Paris (France). The other signs representative of the format today are: Lafayette galleries, Spring, BHV.

Popular stores

See also: Store at flat price

  • This form of trade appeared in the United States in 1879 with the branch manager Woolworth' S . It will appear in France only in 1931 with Uniprix, of Prisunic and in 1932 with Monoprix, this last sign having successively absorbed its two competitors with the passing of years.

From 1916 to 1980: the self-service, discount and large surfaces

See also: Self-service, Supermarket, Hypermarket

  • September 6th 1916, opening of the first store Self-service, under the sign Piggly-Wiggly with Memphis (the United States) by Clarence Saunders.
  • August 4th 1930, Michael J. Cullen opens the first Supermarché on 560m ² with New York (the United States) under the sign King Kullen .
  • In 1948 in Germany according to war, the Theodor brothers and Karl Albrecht transform the policy commercial family by directly including the handing-over in the selling price with all the customers as of the first purchase and meet an immediate success. The Assortiment proposed was narrow and not very deep. The store will take the name of Aldi for Albrecht Distribution.
  • Edouard Leclerc, in 1949 with Landerneau (France), goes further in the discount while buying in mass and fact of many followers: " To buy less expensive, to resell " less expensive;.
  • Opening of the first Hypermarket on June 15th, 1963 carrying the sign Crossroads with Holy-Genevieve-of-Wood (France).

As from 1980

  • Widening of the customers by combining price and quality

  • Decline of the specialists (cheese-making, general storekeeper, bazardier…) and of the grocer S independent and increased role of the Purchasing groups.
  • Rise to power of the signs specialists (nonfood) such as the FNAC, Darty, Castorama following their repurchase by great groups.

1990: the customer king

  • Development of customer loyalty (1980 Beginning of the development of consumer loyalty)

  • New strategies directed towards the Vague customer
  • of concentration of the sector of the distribution
  • Rise of internationalization

2000: return to the sources

  • Development of customer loyalty

  • Deceleration of the external growth
  • Increase in the hardware discount
  • Return to strategies of low price
  • Development of the E-business

The sector of large distribution in France

See also: Hypermarché#Les hypermarkets in France, hypermarkets in France

A hypermarket is a Retail business of big size (minimal commercial surface of 2500 m ² in France). For INSEE, a large surface is a hypermarket if it carries out more than one third of its turnover in the food one.

It is difficult to separate the hypermarkets from the supermarkets insofar as majority of the signs of supermarkets (Intermarket, Champion, Super U…) stores of more than 2500 m ² develop today. The specialists in the kind remain nevertheless the large operators hypers (+ of 8000 m ²): Auchan, Crossroads, Cora, E. Leclerc and Géant Casino.

In 2005, food large surfaces, i.e. the supermarkets and the hypermarkets, employed 550.000 people and carried out a turnover of 157,7 billion euros. In France, the law of orientation of the trade and craft industry of the December 27th 1973, known as “law Royer”, of which the goal was to save the small shop by limiting the growth of large surfaces, subjected their establishment to the agreement of the departmental Commissions of commercial town planning. The law of the July 5th 1996 relating to the development and the promotion of the trade and the craft industry supplements, known as Loi Raffarin reinforces the law Royer by lowering the threshold of surface to the top of which an authorization is necessary and while making the authorization more difficult in practice (change of composition of the commissions, re-elected for Departmental the Commission occasion of Commercial Equipment,…).

In addition, the Loi Galland reduces competition by not taking into account the back margins in the criteria of sales at a loss.

The analysis of the economic implications of these laws shows their fatal consequences on the Purchasing power (the barriers at the entry reduce competition and creates local monopolies), and on employment (less hypermarkets implies less employees). The principal economists plead near the policies in favor of a change of regulation.

Principal French signs

See also: List of French signs of distribution

Large companies of distribution specialized in Large surfaces (GEGS)

Independent associated with a co-operative purchasing group

Independent franknesses

The assessment carbon

See also: Assessment carbon

According to the Agence of the environment and control of energy (ADEME), to make its purchases in a supermarket of periphery would generate four times more Pollution and harmful effects that to buy the same consumer goods to 500 meters of at home, when those are indeed available close to at home . This ratio from 1 to 4 decreases when the consumer gathers his displacements.

In addition, the question is put to know if the peripheral supermarkets generate a multiplication or a reduction of transport between the producers and their rays.

  • They are supplied less locally than the traditional trade (the regional productions, except Fruit S and Légume S, represent less than 1% their sales).
  • Their supply chain is strongly rationalized.

On the whole, some show this mode of consumption to be very énergivore but they are disputed. Indeed, if the consumers are attracted by this mode of consumption it is because of the broad choice of products which reduces the number of transport and by the low prices permitted in particular by the rationalization of the production and the logistics, which brings important energy profits distributed between many economic actors.

Risk management of pollution and the risk of the empoisements

See also: Risk management

The law identifies and frames the risks

The risk to alimentair E

The food distribution require installations and specific procedures generally framed by laws and is controlled by the administration and of the public agencies.

For example, in France, the medical and veterinary regulations frame the production, the distribution and the evacuation of food waste (butchery, pork-butchery…). The Afssa, arranges public independent Frenchwoman, is charged to evaluate this risk on the territory and is equivalent Food and Drug Administration étatsunienne.

Risks related on storages and the installations

The cold stores including/understanding of the cold rooms, the banks cooled and the compressors necessary to good the Conservation of the food, in France are subjected, with authorization with the title of the legislation of ICPE. It is the same for the stations of distribution of fuel subjected to declaration in on this side certain flow distributed and of an authorization beyond that.

Prevention of these risks

The method of control known as of System of analysis of the dangers and control of the critical points (HACCP) is a European legislative obligation in the sector of the production and the food distribution (ISO 22000).

The social responsibility

See also: Social responsibility of the companies

In 2007, the CIES, the association of the distributers control vast a world program aiming to the respect of the social clauses named GSCP (Total Social Compliance Programs). This project including the largest world distributers but also of the suppliers of large distribution is pressed on the international texts and aims to promote and make respect best the practices relating to the health questions, safety, wages, work children and discriminations in the producer countries where the legislations make défaux where are not respected.

Comparative table of the principal companies in Europe




Note: The co-operative groups (E.Leclerc, the Musketeers, Coop, Spar, System U, Babou) do not appear for the moment, these signs function under a system of co-operation of independent and thus do not belong to a Parent company.

See too

Acts of the conferences Etienne THIL which proceed every year at the beginning of October with the University of the La Rochelle (17). Tenth conference: from October 3rd to 5th 2007.

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