Auchan

Groupe Auchan SA

File:Auchan.svg
Company type	Private, SA
Industry	Retail
Founded	Roubaix, France (1961)
Headquarters	Croix, Lille Métropole , France
Key people	Vianney Mulliez, Chairman Thierry Mulliez, Vice-Chairman Gérard Mulliez, Founder
Products	Discount Stores, Grocery Stores, Hypermarkets, Optical, Pharmacy, Clothing, Cosmetics, Financial Services, Insurance, Portrait Studio and more
Revenue	€ 36.71 billion (2007)
Operating income	€ 1.304 billion (2007)
Net income	€ 977 billion (2007)
Total assets	€ 25.283 billion (2007)
Total equity	€ 6.898 billion (2007)
Number of employees	186,000 (2007)
Website	Auchan's Corporate Website

Auchan (Pronounced: Óh-shon) SA is a French international retail group and multinational corporation headquartered in Croix, France. It is one of the world's principal distribution groups with a presence in 12 countries and 175,000 employees.

Auchan has branches in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg, Poland, Hungary, Russia, Morocco, China, Romania, Taiwan and Ukraine.

As of 26 October 2005, Auchan has 356 hypermarkets, 646 supermarkets and 2027 small shops around the world, as well as 116 hypermarkets in France. In several countries, including Poland and Ukraine, the chain has been confronted with protests linked to its labour policy.

Mulliez family

Auchan SA is controlled by the Mulliez family, one of the wealthiest in France. The Mulliez family has created a number of companies:

• Decathlon (sports stores)
• Norauto (car repairs)
• ADEO Group - www.groupeadeo.com (DIY Shops)
• Boulanger (electronic devices shops)
• Phildar (Fabric Stores)
• Accord Bank (loans)
• Kiabi (Clothes shops)
• Cultura (cultural products)
• Pimkie (Clothes)
• Alinea (Furniture)

Slogan

The slogan of the company was La Vie, La Vraie, which translates into English as "Life, real life". The slogan was changed in 2007 to: La vie Auchan, elle change la vie - "Auchan's lifestyle changes your life".

Auchan around the world

Country	First store	Hypermarkets	Supermarkets
France	1961	121	294
Spain	1981	49	128
Italy	1989	47	275
Portugal	1996	20	-
Luxembourg	1996	1	-
Poland	1996	22	11
Hungary	1998	10	-
China	1999	114	-
Taiwan	2001	19	-
Russia	2002	29	10
Romania	2006	6	1
Ukraine	2008	1	-

Auchan's own-label product brands

• Le Moins Cher- Economy range similar to Smartprice (ASDA) , Value (Tesco & Morrisons) or Basics(Sainsbury's)
• Les Produits Auchan- Own brand of products
• Rik et Rok- Products designed for children (this is also a "club" for children)
• Les Produits Régionaux- Regional products such as Breton biscuits

Auchan divisions

The Mega shopping mall outside Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, anchored by IKEA and Auchan (the "Ашан" sign in the center of the building)

The Auchan in Mysiadło near Warsaw, Poland

• France : Auchan, Atac, Simply Market, Auchan Direct, Voyage Auchan, Immochan, Banque Accord.
• China : Auchan, RT Mart, Immochan, Accord Consulting.
• Spain : Alcampo, Sabeco, Simply Market, Immochan, accordfin.
• Hungary : Auchan, Immochan, Accord Magyarország.
• Italy : Auchan, smasupermercati, Cityper, Simply Market, Accord Italia.
• Luxembourg : Auchan, Immochan.
• Romania: Auchan, Immochan, Accord Intermed Consumer Finance.
• Poland : Auchan, Elea, A-Tak, Immochan, Accord Finance.
• Portugal : Jumbo, Pão de Açúcar, Oney.
• Russia : Ашан, Atak, Immochan, BA Finans.
• Taiwan : RT Mart, Immochan.
• Ukraine: Ашан, Immochan, Oney.
• On the Internet : Auchandirect, voyagesauchan.com

Auchan's withdrawn ventures

Auchan opened its first hypermarket in the United States in 1988 in Houston off the Sam Houston Tollway between Beechnut and Bissonnet streets. A second Houston location was opened in 2000 in a building just off the South Loop, which had formerly housed a Target store. Right before Auchan had decided on a second location, there were 55 checkout stands.

Auchan also tried opening a store in the Chicago market in 1989. The store was a large hypermarket in the suburb of Bridgeview, Illinois. The store was not successful and was later bought by a local Chicago chain, Dominick's supermarkets, and converted into an Omni Superstore by 1991.

All US locations were closed by March 2003, leaving Auchan with no presence in the United States.

Auchan opened a number of stores in Mexico; the first of these opened in Mexico City in 1997 and eventually grew to five stores. Faced with stiff competition from Wal-Mart, as well as local superstore chains Gigante and Comercial Mexicana, and French rival Carrefour (who also sold their stores and left the country in March 2005) , Auchan decided to sell their stores to Comercial Mexicana and withdrew from Mexico in early 2005.

In 1997 Auchan sold its hypermarkets in Thailand to Groupe Casino.

In 2007 Auchan sold its Argentine stores to Wal-Mart and retired from this country.

Following a conflict with his Moroccan partner ONA, Auchan has sold its 49% in August 2007.

See also

• List of French companies

External links

• Official site in English