Auchan
Auchan is a French multinational retail group headquartered in Croix, France. It was founded in 1961 by Gérard Mulliez and is owned by the Mulliez family, who has 95% stake in the company.
With 354,851 employees, of which 261,000 have 5% stake in the company, it is the 35th largest employer in the world.
The company operates under the name Auchan in France, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Portugal, Senegal, Ivory Coast, as Alcampo in Spain, and as Aшан in Russia, Ukraine and Tajikistan. The company has also set up operations as Auchan in Italy, China and Taiwan.
The name comes from the first Auchan shop in Roubaix in the district of Hauts-Champs, the pronunciation of which is identical to that of "Auchan".
As of 2022, Auchan is one of the world's largest retailers with a direct presence in France, Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Ukraine, Russia, Taiwan and Senegal. In 2022, the company's revenue in Russia amounted to 237 billion rubles.
Auchan is a rare example of a Western company continuing to operate in Russia after the country's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, as well as actively funding and supporting Russian military efforts. As a result, Ukraine’s National Agency on Corruption Prevention placed the company on its International Sponsors of War list.
File:Auchan, Bieruń.jpg|thumb|Auchan in Bieruń, Poland
By 2025, the group announced it will have 2,896 stores in 12 countries.
History
After meeting the founders of the Carrefour and Leclerc, on 6 July 1961, Gérard Mulliez opens the first Auchan store in a disused factory of the company Phildar, founded by his father, also named Gérard. Covering an area of 600 m2, this store was located in the district of Hauts-Champs, in Roubaix. Originally, the store was to be called "Ochan", but because of the Japanese sounding, changed the name to "Auchan". The choice of the initial letter "A" was desired by the founders to appear in first place in directories. Gérard Mulliez relied on the advice of Édouard Leclerc to open his first supermarket. This store had to be closed in the 1980s because of strong competition with the one that had been built in Leers. The building was bought by the Intermarché. In 2003 it was demolished to make space for a more modern store.In the summer of 1967, on 20 August, Auchan opens its first hypermarket in Roncq in an initially commercial area of 3500 m2. According to Gérard Mulliez, Roncq location served as a model for other hypermarkets in France in non-food enlargement. On 27 March 1969 was opened the Englos-les-Géants shopping center at Englos in the Lille metropolis. Englos les Giants was the first shopping mall with a hypermarket and a retail park in France.
In November 2018, Metro AG sold its 91 Real hypermarkets in Poland, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine to Auchan for €1.1 billion. In August 2023, Auchan announced the acquisition of all of the Dia Group’s operations in Portugal, which include 489 stores under the Minipreço and Mais Perto brands.
Mulliez family
Auchan SA is controlled by the Mulliez family, one of the wealthiest in France and in Europe. The Mulliez family also owns Leroy Merlin, Decathlon and other retailers.Locations
By 2025, the group announced it will have 2,896 stores in 12 countries:Europe
- France: 702 branded stores
- Spain: Alcampo: 526 stores: 80 hypermarkets, 271 supermarkets, and 174 convenience stores
- Hungary: 24 branded stores, including 19 hypermarkets, 5 supermarkets, and 1 convenience store
- Luxembourg: 27 branded stores, including 3 hypermarkets and 19 convenience stores
- Poland: 232 branded stores, including 72 hypermarkets, 56 supermarkets, and 104 convenience stores
- Portugal: 603 branded stores: 31 hypermarkets, 19 supermarkets, and 517 convenience stores
- Romania: 450 branded stores, including 33 hypermarkets, 9 supermarkets, and 408 convenience stores
- Russia: 230 branded stores
- Ukraine: 43 stores: 21 hypermarkets, 4 supermarkets, and 18 convenience stores
Asia
- Tajikistan;
Africa
- Senegal: 45 branded stores, including 1 hypermarket, 31 supermarkets, and 12 convenience stores
- Ivory Coast: 15 branded stores: supermarkets and convenience stores
Russia
In November 2021, Russian “Auchan” signed with online-delivery service "Sbermarket" a deal of strategic partnership in e-commerce until 2028. First, from 2022, both partners will be focused on delivery from darkstores as well as delivery and loyalty programs for B2B clients. In January 2022, Russian Auchan switched on 73 stores to Sbermarket delivery.
One of few western companies operating in Russia after the country invaded Ukraine, Auchan has continued its operations in Russia, arguing it will continue to do so for "humanitarian reasons".
Auchan was added to the Ukrainian International Sponsors of War list following the 2023 joint investigation by The Insider, Bellingcat and Le Monde that claimed that Auchan Russia is actively supporting Russian military in Ukraine by periodically supplying food, clothes, cigarettes and other items. Official Auchan communications claimed these items were supplied to Donbas as "humanitarian help" but as noted in the investigation, all collected items were targeted at "adult men" including items that are never supplied in regular humanitarian help, such as cigarettes, and were thus intended for Russian soldiers. Auchan Russia reportedly both organizes "mandatory voluntary" collections among its employees and provides batches of these items for free.
Senegal
Auchan entered Senegal's retail market in 2014 under the Atac brand before rebranding under its own name. Its rapid expansion focused primarily in Dakar and surrounding regions, transforming the retail landscape by offering a wide range of products, including both imported goods and locally sourced items. This approach appealed to an emerging urban middle class seeking modern shopping conveniences in contrast to traditional markets. In 2022, the group generated a revenue of 218 million euros from the Senegalese and Ivorian markets, representing just under 1% of its total revenue of 32.8 billion euros. As of November 2023, Auchan operated 39 locations throughout Senegal, in addition to offering a drive-through and home delivery service, and is the leading provider of modern food distribution in the country, surpassing Casino, Carrefour, and Elydia.Despite its commercial success, Auchan has faced criticism regarding its competitive practices and impact on local small-scale merchant and its presence in Senegal has been marked by controversy amid broader social movements opposing perceived economic recolonization by French entities. The company's aggressive expansion into areas with established traditional markets, like Castors, is seen as threatening to small vendors and traditional food cultures across Africa. Its competitive pricing has stirred concerns about unfair competition and potential monopolization in a market dominated by informal enterprises. It has also been accused of benefiting from less stringent regulations compared to those in its home country. The movement "Auchan dégage" emerged in Senegal in June 2018, spearheaded by the FRAPP coalition at Dakar's Castors market. It seeks to decolonize Senegal's economy by opposing Auchan's presence and promoting local sovereignty. It comprises a diverse coalition including consumer defense groups like ADEC and ASDEC, business associations such as CNP and UNACOIS, and environmental organizations like Joliba Agrobusiness and Sen Bio. Their goals include advocating for local consumption, protecting traditional markets, and influencing policies to support local businesses and agriculture. In October 2018, Senegal's President Macky Sall instructed the Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce to halt any new openings of Auchan stores until regulations on large-scale retail distribution were established, in what was described as the movement's first victory.
Auchan has also been involved in security incidents and was targeted during social unrest in 2021, impacting its operations. During the 2021 Senegalese protests, the company closed all its stores in the country, having suffered 14 attacks out of its 32 locations nationwide. The decision came as other French establishments like Total and Eiffage also faced vandalism, while French schools, Air France, and Orange shut down operations on Friday due to safety concerns amidst widespread protests against economic hardships and political discontent. In June 2023, amid protests following the conviction of presidential candidate Ousmane Sonko's, Auchan suffered severe losses with looting and fires at seven stores in Dakar and attacks on Total Dior and Total Liberté 6 shops. In Mbour, a non-food products tent was set ablaze.
Portugal
Auchan Portugal was launched in 1974 under the name Jumbo and owned by to the French group Auchan.In Portugal, the Auchan Group owns the Jumbo and Pão de Açúcar brands since 1996.with stores all over the country. One of the main distribution companies in Portugal. It also has gas stations, selling them cheaper than the price charged by the main fuel brands in Portugal. To designate the supermarkets, they used the Pão de Açúcar insignia changing to Auchan Hipermecardo in 2019.
Modern distribution and the concept of supermarket, as we know it today, was introduced in Portugal by the Brazilian Pão de Açúcar Group, which joined the national group CUF in 1969, creating the company SUPA - Companhia Portuguesa de Supermercados.
The first Pão de Açúcar store opened in Lisbon, on Avenida Estados Unidos da América , on 1 May 1970, where a store of the Pingo Doce chain, of the JM group, now operates. On 1 November 1970, he opened his second store in Lisbon, this time in Alcãntara, on Avenida de Ceuta.
In September 2019, the Jumbo brand ended. The new designation for all the French group's stores became Auchan, in a single brand concept. Pão de Açúcar has already changed its name, the new name being Auchan Supermercado.
In 2024 Auchan has acquired Grupo Dia brands Minipreço and Mais Perto with more than 450 stores located across Portugal for an investment of 155 million euros. Auchan is now rebranding all the Minipreço and Mais Perto stores and the topology is now Minipreço Market and Express are becoming MyAuchan and Minipreço Family are becoming Auchan Supermercado.