The avalanche that never stops shaking Casino is reshuffling the cards among its competitors, but also among its partners. Well known to skiers, Sherpa grocery stores intend to take advantage of the situation to renegotiate under the best conditions the contract which binds them to the Saint-Etienne group’s purchasing center… or now place orders with its rivals: Carrefour, present in resorts with its Carrefour Montagne, or Système U.
“We are, for the moment, in the dark regarding Casino, recognizes Olivier Carrié, manager of Sherpa in Ménuires and Val Thorens and president of the network. Our contract, which has been running since 2016, ends in October 2024. We are currently receiving expressions of interest from the competition, which we are studying. With the exception of this contract, nothing binds us to Casino, contrary to what we can read here and there. We are fully independent , and we intend to stay that way!”
Cheese and cold meats by the cut
Sherpa grocery stores were created in 1988, first as an association under the 1901 law, then, in 2002, as a cooperative, where each member becomes an associate with one vote, whatever their sales or the size of their business. store. From supporting stores, over time they have become a real brand with 119 stores, 120 million euros in turnover last year and 850 employees. On the shelves: cheese and cold cuts, regional products – 15% of the references – and even a distributor brand, Terre de l’alpe, with some 150 food references, all made in Savoie and Haute-Savoie.
Of course, vacationers who reach the peaks by road, for many, favor the valley for the week’s shopping. The crowds at the Carrefour Market supermarket in Moûtiers (Savoie), the last town before the climb to Courchevel or La Plagne, cannot be denied. However, “thanks to competition, particularly from Carrefour Montagne, prices have become more competitive in high-altitude grocery stores, and customers arrive at the resort with their trunks less loaded. In fact, for ten years, we have seen them a little every day. We are more of a point of contact than a store where you stock up once a week,” assures Olivier Carrié. If 80% of the Sherpas are only accessible during the summer and winter, their opening dates have a “tendency to spill over into the seasonal wings, to respond to a new spread of tourists.”
Mercato among store managers
Because it is difficult to find affordable prices per square meter in the resort, and the food distribution market in the mountains is now saturated, it is about the conversion of traders, today in franchise contracts with d other brands, which the network relies on to fuel its growth. In October 2022, Anthony Braize, buyer of a Casino shop in Morzine, took the plunge by transforming his shop into a Sherpa. “I found more freedom here on a commercial level. By being associated with the cooperative, we benefit from more room for maneuver than in a franchise, where we are, it is my feeling, simple distributors,” explains -he.
After the announced sale of its hypermarkets, the former distribution giant seems to want to refocus on its local stores: Monoprix, Casino shop, Vival or Spar. A wave of departures among its mountain franchisees would have the worst effect. “Over the last two years, before my time at Sherpa, our contacts at Casino did everything to protect us from the problems encountered at group level,” greets Anthony Braize.
“When franchisees at the end of their contract expressed the desire to join another brand, the head of the network generally offered them a discount on the percentage of the annual fee due, which is linked to their turnover. It is smart to their part, because this economy can allow the store to renovate and increase its sales, and therefore the brand to find its way there”, explains Olivier Carrié. Largesse less and less compatible with the finances of Casino, entangled in a backup plan.`
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