2.1. Retail history and business model
2.1.1. History
We can situate the birth of the modern retail model around 1840 (Owen, Felix Potain in France). In 1852 Aristide Bouricaut opened the “Bon Marché”, first “all under one roof”. There was no notable innovation until the 20 century
August 1930 First Supermarket in New York
1949 Edouard Leclerc Launch : “Buy in Mass, Buy Cheaper, Sell Cheaper
June 1963 : Fournier & Deforey opened the first hypermarket : Carrefour (in suburban Paris)
1963  1990 Explosion of the model, which is copied all around the world. The classical distribution model declined (convenient specialized little store).
2000 Concentration time (Carrefour/Continent ; Wallmart).

2.1.2. Business Model
A lot of books treat of the retail business model . I don’t intend to summarize theses, but here are the basics: the Food retail model is very simple (mass consumption) :
• Buy the right product at the lower price
• Sell it the quicker at the highest price
The consequences of this model are :
• Retailer have low margin
• They try to have the longest supplier debt
• They have short term customers debt
• Low added value
And a complex process ……. :
Buy the right product cheaper: What are the rights products ? Who is the best manufacturer ? How can I negotiate the best for myself? How can I decrease my transportation costs, etc ….
Sell it quickly at the higher price: How does the retailer sell goods (in supermarket, hypermarkets, on the web etc …) ? How can I sell quicker and at a higher price my competitors ? How can I adjust reduce my stocks without interrupting supply ? How can attract clients to my brand ? etc …

We can see that these 2 simple rules have many effects. Which explains the complexity of the modern Retailers organization.

I intend to focus on the second part of the question (Sell It quickly at the higher price), especially in the context of hypermarkets.

3. French retail analysis :
The French food-market