It is a warning shot against the franchise model, an economic model increasingly present in mass distribution. The Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty has requested a civil fine of 200 million euros against Carrefour, as well as the modification of its franchise contracts in a case which pits the distribution group against nearly 170 franchisees, and for which it submitted its conclusions on Friday June 14, the media revealed on Tuesday June 18 The letter.
The first effects have just been felt on the stock market. This same Tuesday, the action of the Carrefour group, more than half of whose turnover in France was generated by its franchisees in 2023, lost more than 9% at the opening of the markets, reaching its lowest level since November 2020.
How did we get here ? The Association of Carrefour Franchisees (AFC) – co-founded by Jérôme Coulombel, former executive of the group and author of Crossroads. The big scam (Ed. du Rocher, 2023) – had attacked, on December 26, 2023, various entities of the group (Carrefour Proximité France, CSF, Selima and Profidis) before the Rennes commercial court, for abusive practices to the detriment of its franchisees and managing tenants.
The General Directorate for Competition, Consumption and Fraud Repression (DGCCRF) – the armed arm of the Ministry of the Economy – had, for its part, launched an administrative investigation since 2019 into the practices of the Carrefour group.
Dozen of clauses
The investigations by the DGCCRF services were successful “to the observation, for several companies in the group, of practices contrary to the commercial code intended to preserve the loyalty and balance of commercial relationsspecifies the DGCCRF at World. Consequently, in support of the franchisees, the court is asked to declare the nullity of several clauses of the contracts binding the franchisees and the Carrefour group, and to impose a financial sanction against the group..
Bercy criticizes Carrefour in particular for having tied down its franchisees with around ten clauses in the drafting of its contracts, the withdrawal of which the ministry is requesting. This covers provisions on the supply and pricing policy of its distributors, which impose on them “recommended resale prices through the obligation to use the franchisor’s computer hardware and software” or an obligation “loyalty in supply at a minimum rate of 45% to 50%”. But also other elements of the partners’ agreement between Carrefour and its franchised stores, such as the clause “concerning the right of pre-emption of the business and a unilateral promise of sale for the sole benefit of the Carrefour group for a period greater than the duration of the franchise and supply contract”.
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