Auchan
Auchan (French pronunciation: [oʃɑ̃]) is a French multinational retail group headquartered in Croix, France.[4] It was founded in 1961 by Gérard Mulliez and is owned by the Mulliez family, who has 95% stake in the company.[5] With 354,851 employees, of which 261,000 have 5% stake in the company, it is the 35th largest employer in the world.
Company type
Private company, SA
3 January 1997 [1]
2,101 points of sale[2] (2022)
France, Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Tunisia
Edgard Bonte (Chairman)
€1.6 billion (2020)[3]
€708 million (2020)[3]
€1.169 billion (2020)[3]
€6.704 billion (2020)[3]
The company operates under the name Auchan in France, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Portugal, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Tunisia, as Alcampo in Spain, as Aшан (Ashan) in Russia, Ukraine and Tajikistan. The company has also set up operations as Auchan in Italy, China and Taiwan.
The name comes from the first Auchan shop in Roubaix in the district of Hauts-Champs, the pronunciation of which is identical to that of "Auchan".[6]
As of 2022, Auchan is one of the world's largest retailers with a direct presence in France, Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Ukraine, Russia, Taiwan and Senegal. In 2022, the company's revenue in Russia amounted to 237 billion rubles.[7]
Auchan is a rare example of a Western company continuing to operate in Russia after the country's invasion of Ukraine in 2022,[8] as well as actively funding and supporting Russian military effort.[9][10] Because of that Ukrainian National Agency on Corruption Prevention listed the company among International Sponsors of War.[11]
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History[edit]
1961–1969: The beginnings[edit]
After meeting the founders of the Carrefour and Leclerc,[12] on 6 July 1961, Gérard Mulliez opens the first Auchan store in a disused factory of the company Phildar, founded by his father, also named Gérard.[13] Covering an area of 600 m2, this store was located in the district of Hauts-Champs, in Roubaix. Originally, the store was to be called "Ochan", but because of the Japanese sounding, changed the name to "Auchan".[14] The choice of the initial letter "A" was desired by the founders to appear in first place in directories. Gérard Mulliez relied on the advice of Édouard Leclerc to open his first supermarket. This store had to be closed in the 1980s because of strong competition with the one that had been built in Leers. The building was bought by the Intermarché. In 2003 it was demolished to make space for a more modern store.
In the summer of 1967, on 20 August, Auchan opens its first hypermarket in Roncq in an initially commercial area of 3500 m2.[15] According to Gérard Mulliez, Roncq location served as a model for other hypermarkets in France in non-food enlargement.[16] On 27 March 1969 was opened the Englos-les-Géants shopping center at Englos in the Lille metropolis. Englos les Giants was the first shopping mall with a hypermarket and a retail park in France.[17]
Mulliez family[edit]
Auchan SA is controlled by the Mulliez family, one of the wealthiest in France and in Europe. The Mulliez family also owns Leroy Merlin, Decathlon and other retailers.
Elo Group[edit]
Elo Group, previously known as Auchan Holding, is the holding company of Auchan Retail. It also includes New Immo Holding (previously known as Ceetrus and Immochan), the division which operates shopping centers and hypermarket galleries and Oney (previously known as Bank Accord), the financial services group that offers consumer credits and Auchan and Leroy Merlin credit cards.
Slogan[edit]
The slogan of the company was La Vie, La Vraie, which translates into English as "Life, the real one". The slogan was changed in 2007 to: La vie Auchan, elle change la vie – "Auchan's lifestyle changes life (itself).