Understanding Consumers in Colombia: a Retail Industry Case Study

Carrefour, since its merger with Promodès in 1999, was ranked as the French world challenger and the European leader in the retail industry. Carrefour followed an aggressive growth strategy by going global from the early 1970s. Its first mover advantage in the international retail sector market and the local acquisitions and by adapting itself to local cultures and consumer habits, it had become the second largest retail company worldwide. Carrefour saw moderate success in penetrating the developed markets of the United States and the UK but it had successfully implemented its multi-format strategy in emerging markets such as the Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America. The Latin American market had witnessed the highest growth rate for Carrefour especially in countries like Colombia where the growth rate at comparable exchange rates had been over 30% in year 2003. The case discusses and highlights the (a) entry strategy of Carrefour in the Latin American market (b) linkage between its strategic intent and its growth strategy in international markets (c) marketing, pricing, branding, use of private label strategy (d) its overall strategy of conquering markets by fast local adaptation to individual markets and its responsiveness to local businesses focussing on the Colombian market.

Citation:

Ashok Som (2006) ,"Understanding Consumers in Colombia: a Retail Industry Case Study", in LA - Latin American Advances in Consumer Research Volume 1, eds. Silvia Gonzalez and David Luna, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 89-89.