1 1 2019 Annual Report 2 YVES SICOT SEAFOOD MANAGER THANK YOU Since 17 March 2020, Casino Group’s 220,000 employees in France, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, Argentina and the Indian Ocean have rallied to continue supplying our 11,172 stores and serving millions of customers every day. They are doing their jobs efficiently, humbly and professionally, giving a fresh sense of nobility to the trade. That is what retail is all about. To pay tribute to them, we are dedicating the first pages of this report, which outline the changes that took place in 2019, to them. Thank you to each and every one of you for taking care of our customers. Every day. NAOMI NAMIE QUENTIN KUGUIO DE ALMEIDA FLEURANCEAU BAKERY COUNTER SALES ASSISTANT LOGISTICS AGENT MOHAMED JAQUELINA EL KASTANI MARZINOTTO STORE MANAGER SELF-SERVICE EMPLOYEE MOUSSA DIA NORELYS LEIVA E-COMMERCE ORDER PICKER CASHIER LUIS FELIPE NAWAL MOJZI LOGISTICS AGENT DA SILVA ALVES HOME APPLIANCES SALES ASSISTANT contents 12 24 72 INTERVIEW WITH RESPONSIVE BANNERS & SUBSIDIARIES JEAN-CHARLES NAOURI every 96 34 16 SOCIETAL CASINO GROUP 2019 AT A GLANCE DIGITAL PERFORMANCE day... 44 18 110 KEY FIGURES DEMANDING FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE 2019 Annual Report 20 54 GOVERNANCE DARING 64 ENTERPRISING 12 13 INTERVIEW “THE GROUP IS WELL-POSITIONED � TO MEET THE CHALLENGES OF THE RETAIL How has the onset of Covid-19 impacted Casino Group? � The Covid19 epidemic has upended our TRANSFORMATION.” lifestyles, impacted our personal and work routines and disrupted our daily lives. In these unprecedented circumstances, I am JEAN-CHARLES very pleased to say that we’ve been able to NAOURI, rely on the professionalism of all our teams. CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER The employees in the banners, warehouses OF CASINO GROUP CASINO GROUP and corporate support functions all decision making, agility, responsiveness stepped up to the challenge in record time and precise execution are business-critical to continue fulfilling our core mission: strengths. Collectively, Casino Group has ensuring access to food and basic neces- these capabilities. sities for everyone, “Clear decision-making, especially the most In addition, our strategy has positioned us vulnerable and our at the forefront of meeting essential needs. agility, responsiveness hard-pressed health Our convenience stores are located in city and precise execution are care workers. And, centres, our automated checkouts are up 2019 Annual Report business-critical strengths. to make sure our and running, we’ve significantly expanded our Collectively, Casino Group response doesn’t home delivery capabilities, and Cdiscount further the spread is demonstrating the power of French-style has these capabilities.” of the epidemic, online retailing. strict preventive measures have been applied in the stores � and across the supply chain. How did these strategic choices The health of our employees and custom- shape the Group in 2019? ers remains an absolute priority. I’d like to � Over the last few years, we’ve been extend my personal thanks to all our responding to the decline in large hyper- employees for their dedication, and espe- markets and shifting customer expecta- cially to our front-line staff who, every day, are demonstrating outstanding commitment, tions by repositioning the Group towards above and beyond the call of duty. the most attractive formats, the ones in which we are the most skilled. These � include premium urban formats, with our Is the Group ready and Monoprix and Franprix banners, and also able to carry out its mission? Casino Supermarchés and Géant Casino � stores located in fast growing geographies. We’ve never been through such an ordeal, but in recent years, the Group has consist- That’s why we sold more than 30 hyper- ently demonstrated its resilience and markets and supermarkets in 2019 and robustness. In responding to a crisis, clear agreed in early 2020 to sell 567 Leader 14 15 INTERVIEW Price stores and three Leader Price ware- � “Online food houses. At the same time, we stepped up our Online grocery sales are also a big part focused expansion by opening 213 Casino of the retail transformation. What are retailing represents Proximités, Franprix and Naturalia outlets, the Group’s ambitions in this area? a colossal and we will maintain this momentum in 2020. � With 7,200 stores in the right formats and +11% new challenge, The faster gain in We have been leading the way in e-com- the right locations, we are now perfectly organic product sales merce in France for the past 20 years. and we are ready positioned to support the rapidly trans- illustrates the virtuous Moreover, during the current health crisis, to meet it.” forming French retail industry. growth dynamic of Cdiscount has demonstrated the power of the Group’s banners. � its own model, which is more responsible and just as efficient. Online food retailing And in Latin America? � represents a colossal new challenge, and During the year, we folded our Colombian, we are ready to meet it. Banner sales have Uruguayan and Argentine operations into our increased by 11% in France and 40% in jects totalling 100 MWp, or more recently Brazilian subsidiary GPA. The new organi- Latin America, led by our ecosystem of with Allego in electric mobility. What’s more, sation will streamline operations and make applications that have been downloaded GreenYellow’s energy expertise is consid- it easier to deliver synergies among the � nearly 19 million times. In addition to the erably reducing our operations’ carbon CASINO GROUP digital interface, it is critical to have strong formats most closely aligned with con- The Group’s autonomous stores were footprint. sumer needs. The cash & carry operations the subject of much debate this year. logistics expertise. are continuing to enjoy strong growth, with How do you feel about them? � For that, we rely on strategic partners. In net sales up 22% at Assaí, and Grupo Éxito’s � Speaking of which, how does the Brazil, GPA has acquired the James Delivery new generation hypermarkets are also In response to the huge changes in the way Group both fulfil its growth ambitions start-up, while in France, alongside our own improving their performance. people shop, the Group made the decision and meet its CSR objectives? to accelerate the digitalisation of its ban- sales channels, we’re distributing our prod- ucts via Amazon Prime Now. But the real � ners and proactively develop new skills Business performance and social progress turning point was recently reached with the amongst its workforce. More than 300 of can go hand in hand if we focus on sustain- 2019 Annual Report commissioning of the automated fulfilment our stores are now equipped with auto- ing growth over the long-term. This is what centre developed with Ocado, which now lets mated scanner gates, which let customers we’re doing with GreenYellow, but also with us offer Monoprix customers in the Greater use the Casino Max application to scan organic products, which make up an Paris area the industry’s most efficient, their purchases and leave the store without increasingly large share of the merchandise most profitable next-day delivery service. going through a checkout. 45% of payments assortment on our shelves. As an example, in Géant Casino units and 36% in Casino � these products accounted for nearly 9% of Supermarchés stores are now made by our grocery sales in France in 2019, or €1.1 Are the new service businesses smart - phone or auto- billion. Shoppers appreciate this change “In response to the huge changes matic checkout, while expanding in line with expectations? and are prepared to pay the right price for the longer store hours � products that meet higher standards. in the way people shop, the Group are generating increased Our expertise in data management and made the decision to accelerate footfall. This shift is digital solutions represents an important Here too, the Group’s ability to take the digitalisation and proactively develop being embraced by our growth opportunity through our RelevanC initiative has made the difference. We’ve teams thanks to the subsidiary, whose net sales have increased been a driving force in sharply reducing the new skills amongst its workforce.” deployment of a plan to by more than 50% over the last year. And in use of plastics and removing unnecessary support them in upgrading to customer energy, GreenYellow is continuing to ramp packaging from our products; in improving service jobs. Over a three-year period, for up its business. Its pipeline of photovoltaic animal welfare and creating a labelling example, 6,000 impacted employees will projects has tripled over the past year to system usable across the industry; and in be trained in shopper assistance and 451 MWp, and it is expanding even more collecting customer donations to support relationship management. This approach, quickly in the global marketplace. Promis- social outreach initiatives. It is our responsi- which is based on constructive dialogue ing partnerships have also been formed, bility as a retailer to channel spending in with employees, is a totally new way forward such as with Engie as part of Reservoir this direction, and our teams are very proud in the retail industry. Sun, which in one year has secured pro- of their success in doing so. 16 17 2019 AT A GLANCE DARWIN.2019: FRANPRIX’S NEW LA NOUVELLE EUROPEAN ONLINE RETAILING: CDISCOUNT TAKES THE INITIATIVE (R)EVOLUTION CAVE: Cdiscount joins with three leading marketplaces in Romania, Italy Franprix unveils a new generation BOTTOMLESS and Germany to create IMN, an unprecedented alliance that opens of stores, focused on food services, TECHNOLOGY up a market of more than 230 million customers for online sellers. organic products and in-bulk sales, while A trendy phygital every drastically reducing its carbon footprint.