1 A Service Strategic Preview: Q4 October - December January 2013 GILDAS AITAMER Associate Analyst STEPHEN SPRINGHAM Senior Retail Analyst

2 Analyst Comment: Strategic Preview: Carrefour Q4 “We are expecting another quarter of like-for-like sales decline at Carrefour due to the contraction of consumption in Europe in general and southern Europe more specifically - markets to which the business is widely exposed. In its domestic market, Carrefour’s drive on low prices and seasonal campaigns have been eclipsed by stiffening price competition among the major retailers during Q4. Internationally, Brazil is expected to remain Carrefour’s major pillar for growth as like-for-like sales in other markets such as China or Argentina are unlikely to have improved. Georges Plassat has outlined the company’s refocusing strategy, albeit with some debateable options, divesting several countries while acquiring stores in key Western European markets. Looking ahead, we believe this line of strategy will be carried out in the coming quarter.” “We are expecting another quarter of like-for-like sales decline at Carrefour due to the contraction of consumption in Europe in general and southern Europe more specifically - markets to which the business is widely exposed. In its domestic market, Carrefour’s drive on low prices and seasonal campaigns have been eclipsed by stiffening price competition among the major retailers during Q4. Internationally, Brazil is expected to remain Carrefour’s major pillar for growth as like-for-like sales in other markets such as China or Argentina are unlikely to have improved. Georges Plassat has outlined the company’s refocusing strategy, albeit with some debateable options, divesting several countries while acquiring stores in key Western European markets. Looking ahead, we believe this line of strategy will be carried out in the coming quarter.” GILDAS AITAMER Associate Analyst “Rome wasn’t built in a day; nor should we expect dramatic turnaround at Carrefour in the immediate term. While we remain supportive of Plassat’s pledges to date, most of the initiatives are based on the longer term. But for all the positive rhetoric, many questions persist: what is a sustainable strategy for the core domestic hypermarket division? Single or multi-brand across the domestic operations? How to overcome negative consumer price perception? The financial feasibility of heavy capex? The ongoing viability of some of its international operations? Any guidance on these questions would be very welcome. Against this backdrop, a mixed bag of performance is likely - continued dynamic growth in Latam, ongoing pain in Spain and Italy; market-consistent slow improvement in China, operations in India on hold; and most significantly, a worrying stall in recovery at the domestic hypermarket division, prompting accusations of a false dawn.” “Rome wasn’t built in a day; nor should we expect dramatic turnaround at Carrefour in the immediate term. While we remain supportive of Plassat’s pledges to date, most of the initiatives are based on the longer term. But for all the positive rhetoric, many questions persist: what is a sustainable strategy for the core domestic hypermarket division? Single or multi-brand across the domestic operations? How to overcome negative consumer price perception? The financial feasibility of heavy capex? The ongoing viability of some of its international operations? Any guidance on these questions would be very welcome. Against this backdrop, a mixed bag of performance is likely - continued dynamic growth in Latam, ongoing pain in Spain and Italy; market-consistent slow improvement in China, operations in India on hold; and most significantly, a worrying stall in recovery at the domestic hypermarket division, prompting accusations of a false dawn.” STEPHEN SPRINGHAM Senior Retail Analyst

1.Expectations for the Quarter 2.France: Q4 Strategic Changes 3.Global: Q4 Strategic Changes 4.Outlook 5.What’s new at Planet Retail Strategic Preview: Carrefour Q4

4 Carrefour’s price-focused Reset strategy has thus far failed to result in tangible improvements to topline sales.

5  We do not expect noticeable improvement from Carrefour in Q4, given the contraction in consumer spending across Europe in general. In its home market, Carrefour is likely to post negative like-for-likes despite its low price guarantee campaign and media-promoted “Le Mois Carrefour”, which ended during this quarter.  Nevertheless, we remain confident that Georges Plassat’s long term vision will ultimately pay off. However, in the immediate term any benefits gained by the retailer trying to fix previous structural difficulties in Europe, and France specifically, are likely to be eclipsed by external factors both within the macroeconomy and price aggression from the competition.  Brazil is likely to remain Carrefour’s pillar for growth, while China is probably going to record like-for-like sales declines again in Q4. In spite of this, Carrefour is reportedly planning to accelerate store opening in China in 2013 to 24 hypermarkets, at a time when Tesco and Walmart are slowing down.  We will also be looking for an update on possible divestments of non-core markets such as Turkey or Taiwan. Another weak quarter expected for Europe’s largest retailer.