Toupargel Troc de l'Ile Vet'affaires Videlec Vilmorin Clause Et Compagnie Sa VM Materiaux SA Vranken Monopole Supermarkets Retail Food Sector in France Report from the US Department of Agriculture, October 2000. Developments in the last several years have altered the country s retail food distribution system. Hypermarkets and supermarkets are technically defined as stores with a minimum selling area of 2,500 square meters for hypermarkets and between 400 and 2,499 square meters for supermarkets. These stores currently represent a total of about 9,125 stores.
Hard discounters offer a smaller range of goods for lower prices.
There are about 2,200 hard discount stores in France. City center stores are smaller than regular supermarkets and are usually located in town centers that offer a wide selection of food and non-food products. Some department stores in Paris have gourmet food sections. City center and department stores represent a total of about 21,800 outlets. They are self service stores run by one or two independent operators, i.e., individuals not paid by the distribution group.