CARREFOUR

1. CONCEPTS

Client-oriented culture: It is a mechanism in which a company orients their process in the knowledge of its clients to satisfy their needs efficiently.

Transformation: "Increasing agility, execution quality and competitiveness". (Carrefour, 2009).

Innovation: "Regaining initiative and leadership." (carrefour, 2009)

2. WHAT ARE THE MAIN STRATEGIES OF CARREFOUR GROUP AND WHY THEY IMPLEMENT THEM?

The main strategies that Carrefour group implements are:

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  Client- oriented culture: "The Carrefour group is enhancing its knowledge of customers, with the aim of serving them better and improving its brand image. In stores, the Carrefour brand will be conveyed in a way that is closer to the customer and more emotionally involving." (Carrefour, 2009).

When Carrefour began to internationalize, it had a previous knowledge of what clients needed due to the change in requirements in France, and the obstacles with the government authorities, follow the reasons they brought with experience to expand.

the client-oriented culture is a good strategy because Carrefour look for opportunities where any other competitors find them.

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  Transformation: "It will redesign its organisation, enhance synergies between sales and purchasing, and create new relationships between head offices, countries and stores. Sharing of knowledge and best practice will form the heart of this transformation process, which will be carried out by, and for the benefit of, our staff. " (Carrefour, 2009)

The strategy of transformation shows that carrefour is an organization that learn of it own errors. When Carrefour expanded to United States and united Kingdom, it realized that not all the costumers are the same and that not all the clients have the same needs. Carrefour implement this strategy to improve, because improving is the unique way to expand to another countries where needs are really difficult to satisfy.

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  Innovation: "In France, Carrefour is opening pilot convenience stores, i.e. Carrefour City in city centres and Carrefour Contact on the outskirts or in the centre of small towns. In Taiwan, Carrefour has created Carrefour Convenient Buy, a store open 24 hours a day. Carrefour is a multi-format group, and intends to be a multi-channel retailer too, strengthening its presence in e-commerce. The in-store offering will be enhanced with the launch of new product ranges that meet customers' current needs. Together with other innovations, Carrefour will become a multi-service retailer." (Carrefour, 2009).

This kind of strategies, allow Carrefour be more confident for the clients, because carrofour should use that information about their costumers and become it in the way to attract people. Innovation is something that add value to the service so costumers adapt the new product or service to their own needs.

3. POINT OF VIEW

Companies have to be creative in way they do the things. When something is bad for example in the expansion, like in the case of Carrefour, strategies should be the better to internationalize. It is a mistake to think that a strategy can run on either side, for that carrefour is trying to create a new way to expand to countries like Romania or "opening the 64th Carrefour Hypermarket in Mojokerto city." (Carrefour, 2009).

Carrefour has a great opportunity because it can innovate with both products and services.

"To survive and compete in today’s marketplace, a firm must be able to respond quickly to external change and think imaginatively about its services and the way in which it offers them to consistently meet clients’ needs and maintain profitability. Firms must recognise that providing legal services in line with those needs forms the core of their business: technical competence is no longer enough." (Carrefour, 2009).  

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Daniel, John D.2010.International Business: Environments and operations. Pearson.

CYBERGRAPHY

Carrefour. (2009). Our strategy. [online]: http://www.carrefour.com/cdc/group/our-strategy/ 

An Indonesian cashier attends to custome. getty image. (online) Available at:   http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/97427280/AFP

Inside New Carrefour Planet Store. getty image. (online) Available at: http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/103629348/Bloomberg