Carrefour supermarkets arrived to Argentina 28 years ago. The brand came to the country in 1982 and opened the first store in San Isidro, in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, with an investment of 15 million dollars. Since then, Carrefour Argentina began to grow: it has 185 stores in 22 provinces and more than 20,000 employees throughout the country. The company also has 122 million customers per year.
There are four different formats in the country: the traditional hypermarkets, Carrefour Express Carrefour mini Hypermarkets and Carrefour Mini.
In 1995 Carrefour in Argentina launched its own brands: First line (of appliances, electronics), Tex (textiles) and Carrefour (library). Later Carrefour launched other private labels as Etiqueta Negra, the premium brand for fresh bakery products, and Garden & Deco, the exclusive brand of garden products and decoration.
In 1998 Carrefour opened the first mall in the country, also in San Isidro, with ten cinemas. Three years later, Carrefour bought Norte supermarkets and between 2006 and 2009 the company began an expansion plan; the group invested over a billion dollars and opened 45 new stores.
Carrefour Argentina plans to invest $ 250 million pesos in 2010. The company plans to open 20 new Express Carrefour stores in the city of Buenos Aires. Thus, in 2010 Carrefour Argentina will add 23 branches to the 185 already operating around the country.
The objective of Carrefour Argentina is to achieve the lowest price. In fact, the motto of the supermarket is "the lowest price or we will return your money." There are many Argentines who choose the supermarket for this reason.
The Carrefour Group is a world leader in distribution. It is the second global distributor and the first European distributor. There are more than 15,500 Carrefour stores in 35 countries of the world and 58 percent of the group's sales come from outside France.
