'Auchan' SA is an international retail group and
multinational corporation headquartered in
Croix,
France. It is one of the world's principal distribution groups . It is present in 12 countries and employs 175,000 employees.
Auchan has branches in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg, Poland, Hungary, Russia, Morocco, China and Taiwan. It also entered the Romanian market in 2006, with the first hypermarket opened in
Bucharest on the 7th of November 2006.
As of
26 October 2005, Auchan has 356 hypermarkets, 646 supermarkets and 2027 small shops around the world, as well as 116 hypermarkets in France.
Auchan's World
Auchan SA is controlled by the
Mulliez Familly, one of the richest in
France. Many French companies with a large international presence have been created by members of the Mulliez Familly :
★
Decathlon (sports stores)
★
Norauto (car repairs)
★
Leroy Merlin (DIY Shops)
★
Boulanger (electronic devices shops)
★
Phildar (Fabric Stores)
★
Accord Bank (loans)
★
Kiabi (Clothes shops)
★
Cultura (cultural products)
★
Pimkie (Clothes)
Slogan
The slogan of the company is ''La Vie, La Vraie'', which translates into English as "Life, real life". This is the basic principle of Auchan - to deliver a product whose origin is not hidden and can make life easier for the client. Auchan seeks to prove that a company can help the customer and be an environmentally-conscious company.
It has been changed for the new year 2007 into ''La vie Auchan, elle change la vie'' - "Auchan's lifestyle changes your life".
Auchan around the world in May 2007
Auchan's own-label product brands
★ ''Le Moins Cher''-Economy Range similar to Smartprice (ASDA) , Value (Tesco), Bettabuy (morrisons)or Basics(sainsburys)
★ ''Les Produits Auchan''-Own brand of products
★ ''Rik et Rok''- Products designed for Children (this is also a "club" for children)
★ ''Les Produits Régionaux''- Regional Products such as Breton biscuits
★ ''Les grandes marques''- (not strictly a brand name-all of the major companies e.g. Kellogs)
Auchan fascias
The Mega shopping mall
outside Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, anchored by IKEA and Auchan (the "Ашан" sign in the center of the building)
★ 'France :' Auchan, ATAC, Auchan Direct, Voyage Auchan, Banque Accord.
★ 'China :' Auchan.
★ 'Spain :' Alcampo,
Sabeco Supermarkets [1], Immochan Espagne, accordfin.
★ 'Hungary :' Auchan, Accord Magyarország.
★ 'Italy :' Auchan, smasupermercati, Cityper, Gallerie Auchan, iovorrei, cartaccord.
★ 'Luxembourg :' Auchan.
★ 'Argentina:' Auchan.
★ 'Romania:' Auchan.
★ 'Morocco :' Acima, Marjane.
★ 'Poland :' Auchan, Elea, A-Tak, Accord Finance, Immochan.
★ 'Portugal :' Jumbo, Pao de Açúcar, Rik e Rok, crediplus.
★ 'Russia :' Ашан.
★ 'A Taiwan :' RT Mart, Apic , Save and Safe.
★ 'On the Internet :' Auchandirect, voyagesauchan.com
Auchan's failed ventures
Auchan opened its first
hypermarket in the United States in 1988 in
Houston off the
Sam Houston Tollway between Beechnut and Bissonnet streets. A second Houston location was opened in 2000 in a building just off the
South Loop, which had formerly housed a
Target store. Right before Auchan had decided on a second location, there were 55 checkout stands which makes it the only store with the maximum number of checkout stands.
Auchan also tried opening a store in the
Chicago market in 1989. The store was a large hypermarket in the suburb of
Bridgeview, Illinois.
[1] The store was not successful and was later bought by a local Chicago chain,
Dominick's supermarkets and converted into an
Omni Superstore by 1991. The
Omni Superstore closed in 1997 when
Dominick's decided to convert the Omni's to
Dominick's Fresh stores. This move failed and most of the former Omni's were closed, which meant that the building that once housed
Auchan would be closed for good. That building stood vacant for the next 9 years and was finally demolished in winter 2006. The building had numerous board-ups, cracked pavements, broken glass, and gang graffiti inside prior to demolition.
All locations were closed by March 2003, leaving Auchan with no presence in the United States.
Auchan opened a number of stores in
Mexico; the first of these opened in
Mexico City in 1997 and eventually grew to five stores. Faced with stiff competition from
Wal-Mart, as well as local superstore chains
Gigante and
Comercial Mexicana, as well as French rival
Carrefour (who also sold their stores and left the country in March 2005) , Auchan decided to sell their stores to
Comercial Mexicana and withdrew from Mexico in early 2005.
Auchan has also ventured into
Argentina and withdrawn.
See also
★
List of French companies
External links
★
Official site in English
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