Franprix. Which profitability for e-commerce?
Faced with the onslaught of on-demand delivery startups, Franprix (872 stores at the end of December 2020, including 479 franchises) wants to emphasis their e-commerce offensive. A discussion with Laurent Rapoport, Marketing and E-commerce Director at Franprix.
Groupe Casino’s turnover reached €31.9 billion in 2020 (up by 9% on a comparable basis). How has Franprix performed?
Laurent Rapoport: Franprix sales were €1.58 billion, with growth of 7.1% on a comparable basis. Our local shops benefited from the Covid-19 health crisis, and the average basket in stores rose sharply. In terms of contribution to growth, offline was the major growth driver in 2020. E-commerce also increased, although it is still developing from a smaller base.
How much does e-commerce represent in total turnover?
LR: We don’t disclose such figures. However, I will explain the model. E-commerce, which was launched in 2017, is managed by 90 preparation shops, out of our total 900 units. These 90 shops were chosen according to the size of their product range plus a geographical criterion to cover the territory as completely as possible. We started with the integrated shops, as picking in the shop stock requires cohesive and flexible IT Systems. Franchised shops also become order pickers. At Franprix, e-commerce is carried out by in-store picking, with an essential human dimension. The strength is to offer 100% of the range of the shop that prepares it. This ranges from 5,000 to 8,000 products per shop. A customer can order added value like grilled chicken or hot bread.
