French retail giant Carrefour plots 50 store expansion in India comeback with Apparel Group

French retail giant Carrefour has officially marked its return to India, launching an ambitious omnichannel retail expansion aimed at opening 50 stores across India over the next 3-4 years. The French supermarket major has teamed up with Dubai-based retail conglomerate Apparel Group, led by Nilesh Ved, adopting a master franchise model that paves the way for direct business-to-consumer operations.

The re-entry marks a strategic shift from Carrefour’s initial exit nearly 12 years ago, when it operated five wholesale cash-and-carry stores in Delhi before pulling out in 2014. Under the new arrangement, Apparel Group is funding the on-ground infrastructure and retail operations. The move arrives as India’s retail sector is projected to exceed $2.36 trillion by 2030, buoyed by economic growth and rising household consumption.

"Look at the way India is today; it has completely changed the way the world was before. Two, we have seen what they have done in the Gulf region. We have seen them in France. We have seen how good they are. We believe in India, and we want to get into the retail, supermarket, and hypermarket business. So we said, let's find the right partner," shared Nilesh Ved, chairman of APPCORP Holding and owner of Apparel Group.

The partnership debuted with the retailer’s first flagship store at H&S Mall, Boulevard Walk, Greater Noida West. Spanning more than 50,000+ sq. ft, the sprawling hypermarket carries over 15,000+ SKUs across fresh groceries, packaged food, household essentials, and select non-food goods.

Patrick Lasfargues, executive director of International Partnership at Carrefour, told Fortune India that the country’s retail dynamics have changed fundamentally since the group left.

"Due to the magnitude of the market, the population, we had to come here," Lasfargues said. "The challenges that we had at the time of not being able to go in B2C alone have vanished thanks to the franchise model we have with Apparel. The economy has developed quite well with the purchasing power of the Indian customer. I was looking at the GDP recently of the Indian economy, more than 7%, which is amazing. So, we still think that there is some room for an international player like Carrefour."

Private labels and local sourcing playbook

The retailer is already preparing its second location, a 10,000-square-foot supermarket scheduled to launch within four weeks, which will quickly set off a wider expansion across Delhi-NCR and Uttar Pradesh. The roadmap incorporates compact hypermarkets, supermarkets, and convenience formats like Carrefour Express to reach the 50-store target, alongside potential quick commerce and hybrid fulfillment models in the future.

"In the beginning, it will be NCR, and then we will go to other markets. We are looking at everything, be it in the West or in the South. These are markets we are looking at to see how we can grow, but it also depends on what real estate we get," said Ved.

A core pillar of the India strategy centers on private label development. In France, private labels account for 40% of Carrefour's turnover, a framework the retailer plans to replicate locally. In 2025 the company made a revenue of $98.70 billion, an increase of 13.66% from $86.84 billion in 2024.

"We are discussing with the team of Nilesh Ved to set up a private label team in order to have our own specific assortment and differentiation," Lasfargues explained. "What we want to do here in India is to have Carrefour private label manufactured in India. We will use them in Carrefour stores in India, but also export them to the GCC and to other markets."

"Things are changing in India. And if I look at several concepts globally, private label has been a big piece of it. Price is under pressure, and private labels are going to come in. Also, when 'Make in India' happens, we have 15,000 Carrefour stores globally and top-line scale that we can supply to," Ved concurred.

He added private labels will come in and play a big role in terms of pricing and inflation while 'Made in India' and exports from India will help balance what is happening in the world.

Lasfargues emphasised that Carrefour, which operates 15,000 stores across 40 countries, is taking a deliberate and grounded approach to local execution. The early metrics from the Greater Noida West store, including average customer basket size and trolley item counts, have proven very positive. Sourcing staples such as rice and spices locally for global export will anchor the Indian supply chain as the retail network expands.