Carrefour China not affected by slowdown

Carrefour's business in China has not been affected by the economic slowdown, Patrick Ganaye, Vice President of Carrefour China, told Reuters at a company event. Ganaye said Carrefour expects its mainland sales to grow more than 15% in 2009, and plans to open a further 28 stores in the country, after opening 22 last year. He said the retailer's prosperous outlook comes partly from its focus on urban areas and its aggressive price promotions. "When you start to be in crisis, people look at price. You should have the best price," he said. He added that many of the factories in China that are retrenching workers are in rural areas, but that its company’s outlets are focused around cities. The company plans to open many of its new stores this year in smaller Chinese cities, he added.

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