The French giant disappears from Poland. The chain closed 18 stores

After 28 years of presence in Poland, Carrefour is increasingly limiting its activities – informs dlahandlu.pl. During the three quarters of 2025, the French retail giant closed 18 stores, mainly in the convenience segment, which includes small local stores – 14 stores decreased in this format.

At the end of September, the number of Carrefour outlets in Poland dropped to 759 from 777 at the beginning of the year. As analysts emphasize, the downward trend has been continuing since the beginning of the year – in each quarter the chain reduced the scale of operations by approximately 9 stores.

Carrefour in Poland – will there be big sales?

“At the same time, there is a growing belief in the industry that Carrefour may be preparing to sell its Polish business,” notes dlahandlu.pl.

Speculations regarding the future of the network in Poland have been going on for a long time. In September, French media reported that Carrefour had opened a data room together with the JP Morgan bank in order to sell its assets in Poland – 800 stores and 40 shopping centers.

The “La Lettre” website wrote then that, according to Carrefour’s president, Alexander Bompard, the consolidation process in the retail industry is “inevitable” and has only just begun.

– At the halfway point of the implementation of its Carrefour 2026 strategic plan and in response to changing market conditions, the Carrefour Group started an analysis of its business portfolio, covering all areas of its operations and organizational models – informed Carrefour Polska, quoted by dlahandlu.pl.

History and development of Carrefour in Poland

Carrefour debuted in Poland in 1997, opening the first hypermarket in Łódź. Just three years later, the chain took over the Champion and Globi supermarkets, and in 2001 it launched its first shopping center – CH Morena in Gdańsk. In the following years, the company consistently expanded its presence: in 2003, Carrefour’s own brand products were introduced, and in 2005, the chain took over 15 Hypernova hypermarkets and 183 Albert supermarkets. The year 2006 saw the launch of the “Rodzinka” loyalty program, and in 2007, the first Carrefour Express franchise store was opened.

Transformation and digitalization have accelerated in the last decade – in 2018, the “Act for Food” program was implemented, and in 2020–2022, an omnichannel strategy was implemented, combining stationary sales with e-commerce, the “My Carrefour” application, click & collect and q-commerce deliveries. In 2025, a new store format “Carrefour 300” was launched. At the end of 2017, the chain already had 827 outlets, including 89 hypermarkets, and the year ended with a net profit of PLN 2.026 million.

A disastrous year for Polish Carrefour

2024 brought significant declines – the number of stores decreased to 783 (96 hypermarkets, 156 supermarkets and 531 local stores). During the year, 52 new branches were opened, but as many as 110 were closed, including 102 franchise ones. In the first half of 2025, the number of stores decreased further, to 768. The total assets and liabilities of the company at the end of 2024 amounted to PLN 4.429 billion, and the year ended with a net loss of PLN 53.6 million, which shows that despite many years of expansion, the chain is facing financial challenges in Poland.