Carrefour and Lagardère Travel Retail to roll out 150 food stores in railway stations by 2030

Following a tender to operate new local services in railway stations, SNCF Gares & Connexions has entrusted Carrefour and Lagardère Travel Retail with the deployment of food stores across France by 2030.

Simplifying the daily lives of travelers and local residents while addressing their needs is one of SNCF Gares & Connexions’ key priorities. As part of its “Place de la Gare” initiative, the company is rolling out practical, community-centered services in the heart of cities and towns.

This approach includes a new commercial offering for station customers, centered on a local food service that will allow travelers to do their shopping during their commute, helping them save time in their daily routines.

Through this contract, Lagardère Travel Retail and Carrefour plan to open around thirty outlets annually over five years, in stations of various sizes across France where space is available and no nearby supermarkets currently exist.

The future station stores will feature two offerings:

• Food stores ranging from 80 to 400 square meters under the Carrefour brand.
• Online order pick-up points.

Additionally, two innovative new concepts will be trialled:

• Potager City: A distribution concept offering fresh fruit, vegetables, and local produce.
• Api: Self-service mini-markets.

The first Carrefour stores in stations under this new agreement are expected to open by the end of 2025.

“It is with great enthusiasm and shared ambition that we embark on this new partnership with Carrefour after winning the tender organized by SNCF Gares & Connexions. This project showcases our expertise in high-traffic retail locations, backed by a comprehensive portfolio of leading brands. It also illustrates our shared commitment: to offer millions of travelers and local residents a modern, local retail experience with quality products and services, transforming stations into true hubs of activity that meet the needs of an increasingly mobile world. This a great example of our commitment to sustainable, high-quality local retail,”said Dag Rasmussen, Chairman and CEO of Lagardère Travel Retail.

“Through this partnership with Carrefour and Lagardère Travel Retail, we are going even further in simplifying the daily lives of travelers by offering a new network of food stores across all regions. This aligns with the goal of Place de la Gare: to make stations more convenient, useful and enjoyable, while encouraging people to take the train,” said Marlène Dolveck, CEO of SNCF Gares & Connexions and Deputy CEO of the SNCF Group in charge of Transformation.

“We are thrilled to have won, in partnership with Lagardère Travel Retail, the call for tender launched by SNCF. This achievement is a testament to the excellent work of our teams and the attractiveness of our franchise model. It is also a sign of the vitality of our expansion strategy in local networks, following a record year of openings and growth in France”, concluded Alexandre Bompard, Chairman and CEO of Carrefour Group.

About SNCF Gares & Connexions
We design, build, modernize, and operate France’s stations—both todays and tomorrows. With our expertise, we work every day to balance the needs of all our stakeholders (travelers and visitors, mobility companies, retailers, local authorities) to welcome even more travelers. Because a station is a complex ecosystem, our role is to integrate and harmoniously connect the various functions and services it provides, for the benefit of regional development and sustainable mobility, while ensuring the level of safety and security expected by all.
For more information: www.garesetconnexions.sncf/en ● @ConnectGares

About Carrefour Group
With a multi-format network of over 14,000 stores in more than 40 countries, Carrefour Group is one of the world’s leading food retailers. In 2023, Carrefour generated a turnover of €94.1 billion. Its network of integrated stores employs more than 300,000 people who contribute to making Carrefour the global leader in food transition for all, offering high-quality food every day, accessible everywhere, and at reasonable prices. Overall, more than 500,000 people work under the Carrefour brand worldwide.
For more information, visit www.carrefour.com, follow on X (@CarrefourNews), and LinkedIn (Carrefour).

About Lagardère Travel Retail
One of the two priority divisions of Lagardère group, Lagardère Travel Retail is a leading global Travel Retailer, with the longest standing expertise of serving the needs of travelers and partners across Travel Essentials, Duty Free & Fashion and Dining. Lagardère Travel Retail operates over 5,120 stores in airports, railway stations and other concessions in 42 countries, and has generated €6.6 bn in sales (100%) in 2023.  ​We harness our pioneering culture to make travel more enjoyable with bespoke offers and experiences. We invest our world-class global expertise and local knowledge to design value-creating partnerships and experiences for our stakeholders: landlords, brands, travelers, employees and communities.  ​ We actively champion the more sustainable future of Travel Retail through our comprehensive CSR strategy, covering all aspects of where we, as a business, have an impact and can make a difference.  
www.lagardere-tr.com  ●  @LagardereTR