Carrefour to re-enter India, signs franchise partnership with Apparel Group

France’s Carrefour will re-enter the Indian market after a decade as a “retailer” through a franchise agreement with Dubai-based Apparel Group, which sells brands such as Victoria’s Secret, Charles & Keith, Aldo, and Bath & Body Works in India.

Carrefour, one of the world’s top food retailers, exited India in 2014 after four years of operations as a wholesaler after finding it difficult to scale up and make profits. The company was prohibited from selling directly to consumers under India’s restrictive laws on retail, framed to protect small Kirana or neighbourhood stores.

Carrefour’s second avatar in India will be through the retail format with store sizes of 8,000-30,000 sq ft.


The company will initially focus on North India, eventually expanding its presence nationwide. The first store is planned to open in NCR in 2025.

“We will be expanding with multiple formats across the country to adapt to the country’s retail landscape. India is now the cornerstone of the Carrefour International Partnership 2026 development plan, marking a significant step forward in our strategy to expand into over 10 new countries by 2026,” said Patrick Lasfargues, Carrefour's Executive Director of International Partnership in a press statement.

Carrefour did not specify if it will sell food only or other products as well.

India allows 100% foreign direct investment in food retail if the food item is sourced and made locally.

Food and grocery has the largest share in the retail market, according to Pakhi Saxena, Retail CPG Head,
Wazir Advisors, a consulting firm.

“In a very dynamic and rapidly changing market for food retail, we plan to open our first Carrefour stores during the summer of 2025,” said Nilesh Ved, owner of Apparel Group and chairman of AppCorp Holding.

Founded in 1996, Apparel Group manages a portfolio of 85 brands, operating over 2,300 stores across 14 countries in the Middle East, India, Southeast Asia and Africa.

In India, the company has a network of over 250 stores across more than 35 cities and 15 states.

Carrefour Group, with a multi-format network of over 14,000 stores in more than 40 countries, is one of the world's leading food retailers.