Colombia is the natural gateway to the northwest of South America. Site of the mythical El Dorado, much sought after by the Conquistadors, Colombia has a rich natural and cultural heritage.
Its geography is extremely varied. The country has two coastlines - a Caribbean coast and a Pacific coast.  The Andes mountains are ideal for growing of potatoes, coffee and corn, while the vast planes of Orinoco are home to Colombian cowboys and the tropical forests of the Amazon, the "lungs of the world".

1) POPULATION AND CONSUMPTION

Colombia is twice the size of France and has a population of 44 million people. It has the third largest population and the 5th largest economy in Latin America.
Colombia is a young nation and 30% of the population is aged between 5 and 14 years old. The population is ethnically diverse, including gypsies, indigenous groups, Africans, Caucasians and people of mixed heritage.
Highly urbanised, 76% of the population lives in towns and cities. The largest city is the capital Bogotá, which has 6 million inhabitants and an unprecedented rate of social and economic growth.
Potatoes, manioc, sycamore, rice and corn are the basic ingredients of Colombian cuisine and are consumed in large quantities. Despite low incomes, the availability of credit means that DVDs and LCDs are gradually finding their way into people's homes.

2) RETAIL BUSINESS

The most popular store format is the convenience store, situated at the heart of the local community. The format dominates low income areas where people buy food on a day-to-day based.
The hypermarket market is still in its infancy. The first hypermarket in Colombia was opened 15 years ago and the format remains confined to major urban areas. The rapid expansion of Carrefour in Colombia shows that many areas still offer high potential, including the small southern capitals and rural districts. Carrefour is only present in this format and holds a 20.6% share of the market. Its main competitor is Éxito.
Èxito and other trade names in the supermarket category, such as "Carulla", "Surtimax" and "Pomona" were bought by the French group, Casino, in 2007.

3) CARREFOUR IN COLOMBIA

Carrefour has been present in Colombia since 1998. Its first hypermarket, Calle 80, was opened in Bogotá.

In 1999 Carrefour developed a social policy, which is now based on 4 key areas: education, the fight against social exclusion, sustainable development, and environmental protection.

In 2001 Carrefour changed its logo from "Carrefour¡Quelle différence!" to "Carrefour Chévere".

In 2003, Carrefour signed an agreement with the Colombian environment ministry on the marketing of environmentally-friendly products.   

In 2005, Carrefour continued to expand and opened stores in low income neighbourhoods ignored by other trade names. To this end, it developed a new hypermarket format adapted to this environment called Tintalito. The company extended this policy in 2006 by opening stores in medium-sized towns such as Facatativa, Mosquera, Tunja, Buga, Cartago and Cúcuta. 

2007 was a very important year for Carrefour, with a 22.8% increase in sales. Carrefour opened 15 hypermarkets, increasing its sales surface area to 66,735 sq.m. Carrefour opened stores in seven new towns and opened its first hypermarket in the Llanos region, in Popayán in the south of Colombia and in Cartagena, a former colonial town on the Caribbean and a world heritage site.

Carrefour Colombia is also involved in helping disadvantaged populations, and signed an agreement with the IOM (International Organization for Migration) to sell products made by the victims of violence.

Prices
Since 2004, Carrefour Colombia has offered its customers a debit card in partnership with the Colpatria bank. More than 240,000 customers have one of these cards and benefit from a 5% reduction on Carrefour brand products and regular promotions.

In May 2007, Carrefour launched an advertising campaign - "The lowest prices" - comparing it to other trade names. A second wave was launched in February 2008.

On 30 October 2007, 12 Carrefour hypermarkets launched a collection of clothes designed by two major Colombian designers, Juan Pablo Martínez and Hernán Zajar. This gives Colombians the opportunity to buy fashionable clothes at reasonable prices, produced by 50 Colombian SMEs.

Quality
Since 2004, the Quality department has monitored hygiene in hypermarkets and the inspection of suppliers of Carrefour brand products.

Own-brands
Carrefour offers its customers a varied range of own-brand products:
- the Carrefour brand launched in 2005
- the Selección Carrefour brand offers selected quality products.
- Calidad Natural, launched in 2003, offers products that are good for your health and the environment,
- the Uno brand, launched in 2003, is the Low Cost brand popular with customers on low incomes.

The most recent brand to hit shelves was "Actúa" (Agir or "Take Action" in French), launched in May 2007. The brand includes three ranges:
 - Tierra de Colombia. These products reveal Carrefour's support for Colombian SMEs. They promote regional produce from each region of Colombia. They are prepared according to traditional recipes offered by Colombian cuisine using local produce.
- Actúa Eco, a range of organic produce.
- Actúa Sustitución de Cultivos: produce grown as a substitute for coca crops, underlining Carrefour's commitment to the fight against drugs in Colombia. This is one of the most effective solutions against drug trafficking. In this way Carrefour supports former coca producers in changing their farming practices by guaranteeing to sell their products.

Carrefour also offers services such as travel, insurance etc.

Employment
99.8% of employees are Colombian.
42% of women are managers.
Each employee receives 177 hours of training a year.

Procurement
90% of products sold come from Colombia. Carrefour Colombia works with 2400 SMEs, representing 85% of its suppliers

3) SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Carrefour Colombia has adopted a policy based on education, environmental protection, the fight against social exclusion, access to jobs, and support for SMEs.

Education "Schools are part of our lives"
This programme encourages each Carrefour hypermarket to sponsor a state school in a disadvantaged area close to the store. The hypermarket helps improve the facilities, supplies educational materials and enhances the educational programmes. Forty-seven schools are currently involved in the programme.

Environmental Protection
Stores: each Carrefour hypermarket has adopted an environmental management system to prevent, reduce and correct the environmental impact and risks related to the running of our stores. This project was launched in September 2005.

Products

Carrefour Colombia signed an agreement with the Ministry for the Environment in 2003 to promote and market organic produce. 145 organic listed products currently benefit from this agreement. Carrefour Colombia also has 13 Carrefour Quality Lines (oranges, mandarines, pineapples, lemons, strawberries, lettuces, potatoes, pork, beef, shrimps, mojarra fish, Spanish serrano ham and Chilean salmon).
Lastly, Carrefour Colombia launched the Carrefour Agir brand in April 2007, which includes a range of organic products.

Contribution to public environmental programmes
Carrefour Colombia supports environmental protection campaigns organised by local authorities and helps to ensure the upkeep of the Santa María del Lago marshland in Bogotá, the Aqueduc park in Cali, and the Medellin botanical gardens. 

Fight against social exclusion
Carrefour Colombia set up a disabled persons employment programme in 2003. One hundred people with disabilities currently work in our hypermarkets. Carrefour also offers training and employment opportunities for people displaced by armed conflict. Every year since 2006, around 30 people benefit from this programme.

Support for SMEs
To support the creation and development of SMEs and producer associations, Carrefour Colombia has put in place a series of programmes, including the Parrain PME (SME Sponsor) plan, grants for the setting up of e-commerce systems, an agreement relating to the marketing of products as substitutes for illegal coca farming and of organic produce, training workshops for SMEs that wish to market their products in supermarkets and hypermarkets etc.