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Géant Casino

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Géant Casino
Founded1970
Defunct2023 (2023)
Headquarters,
ProductsHypermarket
ParentGroupe Casino

Géant Casino (French pronunciation: [ʒeɑ̃ kɑzino]) was a hypermarket chain based in Saint-Étienne, France, part of the French retailing giant Groupe Casino. In 2022, the brand was gradually replaced by Casino #hyperFrais.[1]

Between June 2023 and October 2024, in the grip of a financial crisis linked to its debt, the group closed or sold all of its hypermarkets in France to competitors. [2] During this crisis, the brand is also gradually being replaced by competitors in various countries. [3]

History

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A Géant hypermarket in Narbonne, France.

Géant opened its first hypermarket in 1970. In December 2015, Géant Casino had about 142 hypermarkets all over the world. The concept is, like most hypermarkets, to have all kinds of items available under one roof. A loyalty card system has been introduced by Géant, with a price discount on certain groceries.

In june 2022, with the aim of re-emphasizing the food side of hypermarkets, and after the transfert of 29 hypermerkets to the brand Casino Supermarchés. The Groupe Casino announce the discountinuation of the Géant Casino brand in favor of the new brand Casino #hyperFrais.[4]

For financial reasons, the group closed or sold all of its hypermarkets in France to competitors between June 2023 and October 2024. [2]

Former locations

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Casino Géant hypermarket in Poland.
  • Lebanon: Géant had one hypermarket in Lebanon which was bought in late 2008 by Sultan Trading Center and replaced by The Sultan Center to be replaced by Carrefour in 2017 upon its closure in Lebanon
  • Poland: Géant had nineteen hypermarkets in Poland, which were sold in late 2007 and early 2008 to the German company Metro AG and replaced with Real.[5][6]
  • Taiwan: Géant had several hypermarket locations in Taiwan in a joint venture with a Taiwanese company. After Géant pulled out of the country, the existing hypermarkets were renamed a.mart.
  • Saudi Arabia: Al Hokair Group operated several Géant stores in the kingdom until 2009 when it was sold to Saudi Savola, the owners of rival Panda.[7][8]
  • Kuwait, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates: Fu-Com joined with Groupe Casino to bring the Géant hypermarket brand to the Middle East where Géant opened its first store in Bahrain in May 2001. A store was opened in Dubai in 2005 and one in Abu Dhabi in 2015 at Yas Mall. Géant expanded its operations to Kuwait by opening a store in 2005 in Kuwait City. In 2017, Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim Group bought 26 Geant hypermarkets in the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait by acquiring the Geant franchise owner Retail Arabia from BMA International for an undisclosed amount.[9] The acquired stores were rebranded as Carrefour and Carrefour Market for its supermarket branches.[10]
  • France: For financial reasons, the group closed or sold all of its hypermarkets in France to competitors between June 2023 and October 2024. [2]
  • Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon and Senegal: In 2023, Mercure International of Monaco began replacing Géant brands with Coopérative U in Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon and Senegal. [3]

Visual history

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1970 - 1992 1992 - 2007
(still used in Uruguay)
2007–2015 2010–2015 2015–2023

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Casino va remplacer toutes les enseignes « Géant Casino » par « Casino #Hyper frais », Le Progrès, July 31, 2022
  2. ^ a b c Camille Harel (September 28, 2024). "Fermeture des derniers magasins Casino : Bretagne et Bourgogne parmi les régions les plus touchées". capital.fr.
  3. ^ a b Nelly Fualdes (September 26, 2023). "Comment Système U profite du recul de Casino en Afrique". jeuneafrique.com.
  4. ^ Casino va remplacer toutes les enseignes « Géant Casino » par « Casino #Hyper frais », Le Progrès, July 31, 2022
  5. ^ Adam Jones, Elizabeth Rigby and Lucy Killgren, "Casino to sell Polish stores in deals worth €884m", Financial Times, 18 July 2006
  6. ^ Metro AG: "METRO Group strengthens hypermarket business in Poland", Press release, 17 July 2006
  7. ^ "Saudi Savola expands retail chain with Geant buy". Reuters. 27 July 2009.
  8. ^ Karam, Souhail (12 October 2009). "Saudi Savola completes Geant purchase deal". Arabian Business.
  9. ^ "Dubai's Majid Al Futtaim buys 26 Middle East Geant stores". Reuters. 29 June 2017.
  10. ^ "Carrefour buys Geant, its French competitor in the Middle East". Al Arabiya. June 29, 2017.
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