Groupe Casino: The New Casino embarks on its transformation plan
Paris, 24 April 2024
The New Casino embarks on its
transformation plan
- An
organisation aligned with Casino Group’s new
scope1
- Pooling of support
services between brands
- Re-internalisation
of skills
- Plan to strengthen
purchasing partnerships with Intermarché and extend such
partnerships to Auchan
- An employment protection plan
that is balanced among the various sites
- More than 1,000 jobs
retained at the Saint-Étienne head office
- Between 1,293 and
3,267 job losses expected
- A proposed system
for comprehensive, responsible and personalised employee
support
- A €1.2 billion
investment project to modernize stores by 2028
Following the publication of full-year
results marked by a particularly high net loss and, in a difficult
market environment, Casino Guichard-Perrachon (“Casino”) is today
embarking on a transformation plan aimed at aligning its
organisation with the Group's new scope, now refocused on
convenience store networks, and implementing a system for sharing
know-how between banners and improving overall efficiency. This
plan will secure the Group's long-term future and make it gradually
more agile so that it can ultimately return to growth and become
France's leading convenience store retailer.
The works councils
of the relevant Group companies were convened on 24 April to attend
a meeting scheduled for 6 May 2024, during which this
transformation plan will be presented to them, and an information
and consultation procedure initiated prior to the implementation of
an employment protection plan. At the same time, negotiations on
the content of the employment protection plan will begin with the
representative trade unions of these companies.
The employment protection plan is part of a
wider transformation plan that has become essential to securing the
Group's long-term future and its recovery.
Its implementation would entail a maximum of
between 1,293 and 3,267 job losses.
The final impact in terms of job losses will
depend on the Group's ability to find buyers for the hypermarkets,
supermarkets and logistics platforms that are scheduled for total
or partial closure.
A two-pronged transformation
plan
Given its financial situation and the refocusing
of its strategy on convenience stores, it is imperative that the
Group adjust the size of its support service functions at its
various head offices, as well as within its logistics network.
The Group also wants to pool a number of
functions where staff are not in direct contact with in-store
customers, while strengthening the identity of each of its brands.
This would result in a more integrated organisation, with
cross-functional support services pooled to share know-how between
banners and improve overall efficiency. In the future, brands could
work better together, innovate and adopt each other's best
practices.
A balanced reorganisation plan for the
various sites and banners
The new organisation plan for head office
activities has been designed to ensure a balance among the Group's
various sites and banners, guided by the principle of preserving as
many jobs as possible at Saint-Étienne, to which Casino Group's new
management is strongly committed. The reorganisation plan provides
for 1,293 net job losses within the Group's head office functions
(of which 554 at Saint-Étienne), including the creation or pooling
of more than 200 positions at Saint-Étienne, some of which is
linked to the re-internalisation of certain activities. As a
result, the Group's Saint-Étienne head office would retain 1,010
jobs out of the current 1,564.
If no buyers can be found, the plan also
provides for the closure of hypermarkets, supermarkets and certain
logistics platforms, i.e., a maximum of 1,974 jobs losses.
The search for a buyer for these various sites
will actively continue during the information-consultation process
with employee representatives, with the aim of reducing the total
number of job losses in the relevant stores and warehouses to the
extent possible.
The operational functions would remain specific
to each brand, as they represent their core business and specific
characteristics. The New Casino stores, now refocused on
convenience, and the Cdiscount teams will not be affected by the
transformation project, nor will work-study students or
trainees.
A comprehensive, responsible and
personalised support system
In addition to providing support systems and
information at each of the relevant sites, the Group will set up a
support system so that each employee concerned can find a practical
solution suited to his or her situation, whether internal or
external.
The Group will offer a voluntary redundancy
scheme for employees who are affected by the employment protection
plan and who have a career plan, in order to limit the number of
forced redundancies as much as possible.
The transformation plan will be conducted in
cooperation with the employee representatives, in a spirit of
collaboration and interaction, as part of a positive social
dialogue process. Casino believes in its future, its robust brands,
the complementarity of its banners, and their positioning based on
service and convenience.
A forward-looking transformation
plan
The Group is therefore proposing a new
organisation consistent with its new scope, refocused on
convenience stores and the realities of the market. Once this
organisation is in place, the Group will be better positioned to
meet changing consumer expectations and reinvest in its sales
outlets and their future growth (layout, private labels, local
products, price image, etc.).
The Group's long-term goal is to restore the
quality of the customer experience in its stores and become
France's leading convenience store retailer, thanks to its
franchisees and integrated teams.
More powerful purchasing partnerships
Purchasing partnerships will be strengthened
with Intermarché and extended to Auchan. Casino will then be part
of a set of powerful alliances representing a market share of
almost 30% and covering a broad spectrum of major suppliers (food,
non-food, national brands, private labels) for a period of ten
years. This partnership will be operational from next autumn for
the 2024/2025 purchasing round. The plan will enable Casino Group
to improve its competitiveness in purchasing, despite its reduced
size. As these partnerships only involve major suppliers, Casino
Group will remain agile in order to develop a differentiated,
innovative offering.
- See the joint
press release published today by Intermarché, Auchan and Casino
Group (link)
Modernising stores
There are also plans to invest €1.2 billion in
store modernisation by 2028.
Philippe Palazzi, Chief Executive Officer of
Casino Group, said: “After the Group's financial restructuring and
its refocusing on convenience brands, this transformation plan
represents a key step towards setting Casino on a new growth
trajectory. We are going to invest significantly in our sales
outlets by 2028 in order to modernize and make them people-focused.
We aim to achieve this transformation by offering responsible,
personalised support to all our employees.”
Calendar:
Publication of Q1 2024 revenue on 24 April after
market close
General meeting on 11 June 2024
***
This press release was prepared solely for
information purposes and should not be construed as a solicitation
or an offer to buy or sell securities or related financial
instruments. Likewise, it does not provide and should not be
treated as providing investment advice. It has no connection with
the specific investment objectives, financial situation or needs of
any receiver. No representation or warranty, either express or
implied, is provided in relation to the accuracy, completeness or
reliability of the information contained herein. Recipients should
not consider it as a substitute for the exercise of their own
judgement. All the opinions expressed herein are subject to change
without notice.
***
ANALYSTS AND INVESTORS
CONTACTS
Christopher WELTON -
cwelton.exterieur@groupe-casino.fr - Tel: +33 (0)1 53 65 64 17
orIR_Casino@groupe-casino.fr - Tel: +33 (0)1 53 65
24 17
PRESS CONTACTS
Groupe Casino Communications
Christophe PIEDNOEL -
cpiednoel@groupe-casino.fr - Tel: +33 (0)6 15 19 17 55
Stéphanie ABADIE -
sabadie@groupe-casino.fr - Tel: +33 (0)6 26 27 37 05
or
directiondelacommunication@groupe-casino.fr -
Tel: + 33(0)1 53 65 24 78
1 Scope of the Group refocused on Monoprix,
Franprix, Naturalia, Casino Proximities, Cdiscount as well as the
Casino Hypermarkets and Casino Supermarkets stores not affected by
a sale agreement to date.
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