We are now going to welcome a big boss, the CEO of Carrefour, Alexandre Bompard, who joins us. We will talk with him about fuel prices, and also about the outburst he just made with other heads of major French retail chains in defense of purchasing power. Good evening, Alexandre Bompard. Welcome to this set. First, the news: this heatwave, likely exceptional, that we have been experiencing in France for six days now. Have the French in Carrefour's stores switched to heatwave mode? Can we see it? In their purchases, in their way of consuming, are they in heatwave mode?
Ah yes, they are totally in heatwave mode.
I had little doubt when asking the question, but I ask it anyway.
Last week we sold 2,500,000 ice creams. Today at 6:30 PM we were at 30,000 air conditioners and fans. That's 1,000 times a normal day.
1,000 times more fans and air conditioners?
A normal day. Obviously everything else follows: things to stay hydrated, keep cool, sunscreens, everything. So the French have really switched to heatwave consumption mode and are constantly adapting, with triple-digit increases in the most weather-sensitive categories.
Does that mean you are also adapting? Are you stocking up on air conditioners and fans like crazy these days?
Yes, we have a very well-honed anticipation exercise now, because we can't say we are totally surprised when we follow climate issues. There was a heat spike a month ago, and May was very hot too, so we were prepared. We have extra stocks ready for these periods, and all Carrefour teams, in logistics and in stores, adapt to ensure all products are available for customers during this time.
Without raising prices, you're not taking advantage of this to increase the price of fans and air conditioners?
Absolutely not. It's transparent.
Will the heatwave increase the prices of certain products? We saw market gardeners and farmers worried about their harvests. Should we expect in the coming days that the price of tomatoes, melons, or other things will rise in your aisles?
It's a bit early to say, because the question is what the repercussions will be on the large plantations. For now, we don't see that. If it lasts and disrupts natural flows, maybe. For now, we don't see it.
Do you notice that consumers are also changing their buying habits? For example, do they not want to go to supermarkets at all, and is home delivery increasing?
On the contrary, they really want to go to shopping centers and hypermarkets because it's cool and air-conditioned. So we have extraordinarily high store traffic.
All your stores, there are 7,000 in France, do they all have air conditioning?
You say 'of course,' but you haven't missed the debate in France for or against air conditioning, even if the lines... I'm going to ask you a question, not as a boss but as a citizen: Do you think it's normal to have air conditioning when pushing a shopping cart but not necessarily in hospitals or schools? Or not at all in hospitals or schools?
First, you're raising the question of the climate challenge. Today we are in adaptation. Before adaptation, there is the question of what we do to reduce, to try... This climate issue is the major issue of our generation. At Carrefour, we invest hundreds of millions of euros each year to equip with cold furniture, close doors that were previously open, reduce our energy consumption, install photovoltaic panels. In short, to reduce our gas emissions.
That was also in the law.
Yes, of course, it's also in the law. But we go much further; it's a very important program to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. That's our responsibility to reduce our energy consumption. And in parallel, for our customers, we believe our industrial responsibility—it's Carrefour that has the means—is that when customers come to a store and it's hot outside, they should have a comfortable temperature to shop. In winter, we heat our stores. So that's my responsibility to welcome our customers well.
People come to you to shop. They also sometimes come to fill up on fuel. How much has it dropped today compared to the peak recorded during the war?
For diesel, it's nearly 40 cents. We were around, it was going up to 2.30. Today it's at 1.86, 1.88, so a bit more than 40 cents. That means it's obviously dropping.
Is it still dropping now? Will it continue to drop in the coming days?
It's extraordinarily difficult. I've refrained from making big projections from the start because by nature, discussions and negotiations are unstable. Trump's statements can move the price of a barrel. Today, we're in a downward trend. I hope it continues. For diesel, it's about forty cents. For gasoline, about 20 cents because it didn't rise as high. Today we're between 1.85 and 1.90 for diesel and gasoline. Before the war, both fuels were around 1.70.
Will we return to that level?
There's no structural reason preventing us from returning, meaning if peace is established and Hormuz functions normally again, it will gradually continue to fall. But it's hard to say with certainty that the price of a barrel will continue to drop. We all hope so, and we pass it on immediately because my interest is to have a low gasoline price to compete with my peers.
Your margin on a liter of fuel is how much?
1 to 2 cents, never more?
No, 1 to 2 cents. What you need to understand is that gasoline is a loss leader for us. It's a draw for customers. We don't make a margin on it because we need to be very competitive. When you travel across France, there are many stations, and the French constantly compare prices. I don't do it to please the government; I do it because there's competition. I have competitors doing the same, so we keep the price as low as possible. It's almost at cost.
