LONDON: Carrefour is facing an “unprecedented situation” in France due to riots and looting, the supermarket chain’s CEO said on Tuesday, forcing the company to cut its annual profit margin targets as curfews and higher security costs hit its business.
Carrefour said the unrest was hurting consumer confidence that was already weak due to a surge in fuel prices, and is reducing footfall at its stores as the key fourth-quarter trading period begins.
“The direct costs add up to several tens of millions of euros … of stolen or destroyed merchandise, damaged stores, damaged equipment, and then there are also the stores we were forced to close,” Carrefour finance chief Matthieu Malige said on a call with journalists.
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“In the weeks to come we will continue to be impacted as some stores have to close earlier due to curfews, and more broadly we think we’re in a new situation marked by deep uncertainty for our customers,” he added.
Malige said 50 Carrefour stores were directly hit by the riots, while many more were closed in anticipation of unrest, including on Sunday and Monday. He declined to give a total number of stores shut.
Costs have increased as stores took measures to protect themselves, including by hiring external security guards, Malige said.