Carrefour sign

French retailer Carrefour has announced an increase in group sales of 6.3 per cent for the third quarter of 2008 and organic growth of almost 6 per cent.

The group attributed the positive results to a number of factors, including an upturn in hypermarket sales in France, a strong start for Carrefour Market conversions in France, a strong contribution from the company’s growth markets, and resilience in its mature European markets.

CEO José Luis Durán commented: “Carrefour delivered a very satisfactory third-quarter performance in a challenging environment. Hypermarket sales in France have begun to improve, our growth markets are continuing to play a driving role and our multi-format single-banner strategy is producing visible results. This demonstrates that our action plan is paying off, we will not slacken our efforts to stand by our customers. Our Q3 numbers put us on track to attain our 2008 objectives.”