This year marks the 35th anniversary of French retailer Carrefour's entry into the Taiwan market. Since entering the region in 1988, Carrefour has become one of the indispensable channels for local consumers' daily shopping. In contrast, Carrefour has frequently encountered setbacks in mainland China in recent years, raising curiosity about why its fortunes differ so greatly across the strait. This article aims to analyze Carrefour's market strategies and operational innovation in Taiwan, providing effective experience and inspiration for retail enterprises and global supply chain cooperation upgrades. Three Major Market Strategies Carrefour's development strategy in Taiwan mainly consists of three aspects: local cooperation and brand building, positioning in the mid-to-high-end market, and deep supply chain cultivation. First, local cooperation and brand building. After entering the Taiwan market, Carrefour chose to establish a long-term and close partnership with Uni-President Group, Taiwan's largest food and retail distribution group. This not only helped Carrefour quickly adapt to the local market but also leveraged the partner's human resources and supply chain system, spanning from local to French and global networks, to enhance product selection competitiveness, brand awareness, and market share. Image: Carrefour Taiwan Second, positioning in the mid-to-high-end market. In terms of store location and product assortment, Carrefour positions itself in the mid-to-high-end market in Taiwan to meet Taiwanese consumers' pursuit of quality and service. Third, deep supply chain cultivation. Carrefour particularly emphasizes supply chain optimization and integration. Taiwan Carrefour ensures product freshness and quality through deep cooperation with local suppliers while reducing operational costs. Operational Innovation Strategies Worth Emulating Why was Carrefour able to gradually defeat the then-largest Dutch retailer Makro (in the hypermarket format) and force it to exit the Taiwan market? In my view, Taiwan Carrefour's operational innovation strategies can be summarized as follows: 1. Feasibility Study Carrefour analyzed Taiwan's market conditions through a series of indicators to determine whether to enter the new market. 2. The Importance of Seeking Partners (Key Success Factor) High-quality partners like Taiwan's Uni-President Group provided strong product power and supply chain support for Carrefour's development in Taiwan, enhancing its market competitiveness. In fact, Carrefour's efficient development in Taiwan is not only reflected in achieving profitability in its third year but also in how Carrefour and other retail enterprises jointly changed local residents' consumption habits. 3. Adapting to Taiwan's Consumption Characteristics Carrefour did not simply replicate its successful experiences from France or other regional markets. Instead, it combined Taiwan's local consumption characteristics, continuously adjusting product structure, optimizing supply chain management, and business formats to suit local consumers' needs and habits, providing them with better products and services. 4. Flexible Retail Packaging and Portioning Model Unlike Makro's membership-based wholesale model, Carrefour adopted a flexible retail packaging and portioning model in Taiwan. This model allows consumers to flexibly choose product quantities and packaging according to their needs without requiring membership, thereby attracting a broader consumer base. 5. Brand Image and Marketing Strategies Carrefour places particular emphasis on brand image building and marketing strategy execution in Taiwan. Through advertising, promotional activities, and other means, it enhances brand awareness and reputation, attracting more consumer attention and trust. Additionally, Carrefour's competitive advantage in Taiwan stems from its core concepts: free parking, one-stop shopping, and competitive prices. Image: Carrefour Taiwan These five points constitute the key to Carrefour's success in the Taiwan market. After more than 20 years of development, Carrefour then embarked on a decade-long operational innovation journey, mainly including the following aspects: 1. Digital and Intelligent Transformation Amid the rise of e-commerce, Carrefour quickly engaged in digital transformation, launching online shopping platforms, mobile payments, self-checkout systems, smart shelves, and more to meet consumers' growing online shopping needs and enhance shopping experience and operational efficiency. Image: Carrefour Express Delivery "Jia Su Pei" While focusing on offline store operations, Carrefour Taiwan also actively expands online channels through e-commerce platforms and social media, achieving online-offline integration. Carrefour thus achieved impressive digital transformation results: in just three years, e-commerce orders grew tenfold, and e-commerce revenue surged from NT$800 million to NT$4 billion annually. 2. Optimizing Local and Global Supply Chains Carrefour adopts a consumer-centric business orientation, emphasizing supply chain optimization and management. By establishing long-term relationships with suppliers and adopting advanced logistics management systems, it enhances supply chain efficiency and flexibility, ensuring product quality and supply stability. Image: Carrefour Taiwan 3. Continuously Deepening Private Label and Imported Brand Operations Taiwan Carrefour currently primarily operates local brands, private labels, and imported brands, with European products accounting for 40-50% of its assortment, and this share is expected to increase in the future. Image: Carrefour Private Label and Imported Foods Furthermore, Taiwan Carrefour has established a "Sustainability" platform, prioritizing the listing of approximately 2,500 sustainable products covering fresh food, groceries, and daily household needs. These include ten categories of sustainable value: nutritious diets, no additives, organic products, ecological agriculture, local revitalization, animal welfare, sustainable fisheries, sustainable development, plastic reduction, and forest conservation. The assortment is regularly reviewed and expanded. 4. Store Innovation Taiwan Carrefour has established various store formats, including hypermarkets, supermarkets, and small convenience stores, primarily to meet different consumer needs and adapt to different business environments. Additionally, new technologies such as self-checkout and smart shelves have been introduced in stores to enhance the shopping experience. Image: Carrefour Taiwan Store Taiwan Carrefour has also launched a convenience store brand, "24h Convenience Purchase," offering a wide range of daily necessities. These stores are typically located in densely populated or commercially bustling areas to meet fast and convenient shopping needs. Moreover, since the opening of the first Taiwan Carrefour "Impact Concept Store" in 2019, to enhance the visibility of sustainable products and consumer purchasing convenience, Carrefour has transformed more than 300 stores in Taiwan into concept stores. Through dual labeling, consumers can more clearly recognize the "Sustainable Products" brand. 5. Continuously Improving Membership Systems and Precision Marketing Through points, coupons, member-exclusive events, and other methods, Carrefour continuously attracts new members and retains existing customers, thereby increasing customer loyalty and purchase frequency conversion rates. Image: Carrefour Taiwan Member Activities 6. Deepening Localization Strategies Targeting the characteristics of the Taiwan market and consumer needs, Carrefour deepens its localization strategies, such as introducing Taiwan-specific products and collaborating with local enterprises to launch co-branded products, thereby enhancing brand identity and market competitiveness. Image: Carrefour Taiwan Specialty Products This decade-long operational innovation journey, from back-end supply chain optimization to front-end membership strategy deepening, has enabled Carrefour to steadily build an unshakable position in the Taiwan market. Operational Upgrade Insights First, Carrefour emphasizes local cooperation, deep supply chain cultivation, and brand building in the Taiwan market, which are essential fundamentals for retail enterprise development. Second, Carrefour targeted the mid-to-high-end market positioning in Taiwan, which provides guidance for hypermarkets and large supermarkets seeking differentiated positioning in fierce market competition. Focusing on changes in the domestic consumer market, at this stage, more and more consumers demand both high quality and low prices, as well as a comfortable shopping environment and quality service experience. Especially under the trend of pursuing "extreme cost-performance ratio," retail enterprises can optimize product assortment and positioning screening to offer more products that meet mid-to-high-end market demands. At the same time, they should improve service quality and environmental experience to attract and retain mid-to-high-end consumers, thereby increasing market share, rather than engaging in blind price wars at the expense of product quality. Furthermore, Carrefour's digital and intelligent transformation in Taiwan, along with its online-offline integration strategy, continuous deepening of private label and imported brand operations, and store format innovation, also provide reference ideas for retail enterprises. In today's era of rapid internet and mobile technology development, digital intelligence is an inevitable trend for retail transformation and upgrading. Self-checkout, smart shelves, AI big data analysis, and other technologies are effective ways to improve operational efficiency and enhance consumer experience. At the same time, expanding online channels and achieving online-offline integration can meet consumers' diverse shopping needs. Particularly in store format innovation and private label operations, Taiwan Carrefour has created a distinctive store image by continuously deepening its private label and imported brand operations. They focus on telling brand stories, showcasing the unique charm of private labels and imported brands to consumers through unique displays and designs. This store format innovation not only enhances brand image but also strengthens consumers' identification and loyalty to the store, providing useful reference for hypermarkets and large supermarkets in store operations and brand building. Finally, French retailer Carrefour has successfully exited the Taiwan market after more than 30 years of operation, reaping investment benefits. From an initial investment of approximately NT$70 million in 1988, it eventually sold its 60% stake entirely to its local partner for NT$23.5 billion after more than 30 years. This move helps reduce financial burden, optimize resource allocation, and focus on other potentially more promising markets such as Brazil and other emerging markets in Latin America. Its successful experience also provides reference and inspiration for other international retail enterprises entering domestic markets. In the context of globalization, Carrefour's market strategies and operational innovation in Taiwan undoubtedly provide valuable insights for domestic retail enterprises on how to adapt to market changes, enhance competitiveness, and achieve sustainable development. It is worth mentioning that the acquisition of Taiwan Carrefour by Taiwan's Uni-President Group also has certain benefits: 1. Expanding Market Share By acquiring Carrefour, Uni-President Group can further consolidate its position in the Taiwan retail market, expand its retail formats, and further increase market share. 2. Diversified Investment Portfolio and Sustainable Development (ESG) The acquisition of Carrefour helps Uni-President Group establish a broader investment portfolio and channel management in the retail sector, reducing operational risks. Image: Carrefour Taiwan ESG Strategy 3. Enhancing Brand Influence and Expanding Retail Business Formats and Matrix By acquiring a well-known hypermarket chain brand like Carrefour, Uni-President Group can enhance its own brand awareness and influence. At the same time, as Taiwan's largest food and beverage producer and distributor, Uni-President Group possesses a wide product line, rich operational experience, and a deep consumer base. Its brand influence can provide strong support for the acquired Carrefour. Uni-President Group has accumulated extensive experience over its long-term operations, particularly in product supply chain and procurement costs, logistics, and brand marketing. This experience helps improve the operational level and service quality of the acquired Carrefour. Recently, Uni-President Group has been actively seizing opportunities in the breakfast and ready-to-eat market. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, Uni-President Dream Park, imports Norwegian flour and has established a Norwegian bakery bread counter with Carrefour's bakery department, which is also wholly owned by Uni-President. Uni-President estimates this will boost Carrefour's bakery performance by more than 20% in 2024. Image: Carrefour Taiwan 4. Comprehensive Supply Chain System Uni-President Group has a complete supply chain system, including procurement, production, and logistics. This enables Uni-President Group to effectively integrate Carrefour's resources in a short period, optimize resource allocation, and improve operational efficiency. 5. Strong Financial Strength As a listed company, Uni-President Group possesses substantial financial strength, providing a stable source of funds and support for the acquired Carrefour, ensuring its long-term operation and development. One of the Best Business Model Examples Combining Globalization Strategy with Localized Operations Carrefour's product planning strategies and operational innovation in the Taiwan market demonstrate the effective combination of its globalization strategy and localized operations. By deeply understanding Taiwan's unique consumer culture, market environment, and competitive landscape, Carrefour achieved rapid adaptation and steady development, providing valuable experience for its expansion in Asia and even globally. Image: Carrefour Taiwan Carrefour ranks among the top in Taiwan's large hypermarket performance rankings. Its key to success lies in adhering to a consumer-centric business philosophy in Taiwan, emphasizing product planning, procurement quality, and service quality, offering diverse product choices and convenient shopping experiences. At the same time, Carrefour pays attention to market research and changes in the business environment, promptly adjusting and optimizing business strategies to maintain competitiveness. It also focuses on brand building and marketing strategy innovation, enhancing brand awareness to attract more customers. Over the past 35 years, Carrefour has continuously innovated and improved, focusing on brand building and market expansion, which are important reasons for its success in the Taiwan market. Conclusion From the perspective of China's retail business ecosystem, product planning and operations are two important links. Planning is like the brain, responsible for conception and innovative planning; operations are like the limbs, responsible for execution and realization. Excellent operations can transform planning into actual results, driving the sustainable development of the retail industry. Currently, China's retail industry has a rich talent pool and mature systems in planning, but in operations, compared to the prosperity of planning, the shortage of operational talent has become a major pain point. This imbalance not only affects the effective execution of business strategies but also constrains the sustainable development of the entire retail industry. Therefore, strengthening the cultivation and introduction of operational talent, as well as capital investment, to achieve the complementarity of planning and operations, has become an important topic for the upgrade of the domestic retail industry. In addition, in the face of constantly changing markets and operational challenges, large hypermarkets need to demonstrate high operational strategic flexibility, timely retreating from unprofitable or no longer suitable markets, or undergoing necessary transformation and upgrades, to avoid resource waste and reduce operational risks. In this process, correctly seeking partners to move forward together is particularly important. Taking the previous cooperation between Carrefour (France's largest hypermarket) and Uni-President Group (Taiwan's largest food and retail distributor) as an example, the alliance of these two retail and food distribution giants not only sets a benchmark for today's fiercely competitive retail market but also points the way for future retail operations to save costs and improve efficiency, heralding a bright prospect of win-win cooperation and twice the results with half the effort. Another example: the VMI system cooperation case between Nestlé and Carrefour. Nestlé and Carrefour cooperate through a VMI (Vendor Managed Inventory) system, where Carrefour places orders or replenishes based on actual sales and safety stock needs, with Nestlé managing inventory. This cooperation model significantly shortens suppliers' response time to the market, reduces unnecessary inventory, and improves market adaptability.