Operation seduction. Michel-Édouard Leclerc’s very first “official” visit to Luxembourg began in the aisles of the Cora hypermarket in City Concorde and ended up as a long marathon of smiles and handshakes on Wednesday 20 December 2023.

In all, the boss of the eponymous chain was due to visit half a dozen of the 27 stores acquired by France’s number one retailer in Luxembourg (two Cora hypermarkets, 25 Match and Smatch supermarkets and mini-markets), as . A lunch with the Bouriez family, owners of the Louis Delhaize group which owned these shops, was also on the agenda.

Nevertheless, Leclerc took around thirty minutes out of his hectic schedule to reveal the broad outlines of his plans for the grand duchy to a handful of journalists. This provided answers to a number of questions.

Why E. Leclerc in Luxembourg?

Poland (around 40 shops), Portugal (21), Spain (13), Andorra (5), Slovenia (2)… E. Leclerc, which was founded in France 75 years ago, is no stranger to foreign markets. “We’re small players internationally, but we’re hungry and we’re convinced that we have a good model and that we can develop it,” says Leclerc.

It was not the big boss himself who directly led the operations leading up to the takeover of the 27 outlets hitherto in the hands of the Delhaize group, but franchisees in the Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine regions. Mainly Serge Febvre, owner of the two E. Leclerc centres in Thionville (Thionville) and Audun-le-Roman (Meurthe-et-Moselle), on the French side, chairman of ScapEst, the group’s central purchasing body for the northeast part of France, and director of an investment company which completed the grand ducal deal. “It’s a question of opportunity. The opportunity arose last June. Things moved quickly,” he explains.

Here again, Febvre and his teams have experience: together, they managed the takeover of Coop chains in Alsace. Febvre laughs: “The distance between the central purchasing office and certain establishments in Luxembourg is shorter than with certain shops in the Grand Est.”

What will the timetable be?

Cora will remain Cora and Match and Smatch will remain Match and Smatch for some time to come. “We are bound by technical deadlines, particularly logistical and IT ones,” says Febvre. According to Leclerc, it will take six months to switch over the checkout systems, for example. As a result, the first Leclerc stores, identified as such, are not expected before the second half of 2024.

For the rest, the group is giving itself time: “between three and five years” for the full rollout of the Leclerc system. In other words, a cooperative grouping in which the managers own their shops.

“It’s not like when you arrive in a store where nothing has been done for 40 years,” says Leclerc. “But we’re going to take the time to get to know each other, and we’re not going to arrive on conquered ground with a Leclerc tank (sic) in front of us. The idea is to get to grips with local customs, institutions and consumer habits.”

What pricing policy?

This is the sinews of war. And E. Leclerc’s well-known positioning in France (excluding fuel, sales of €43.9bn in 2022), where it is known for being especially aggressive on prices. “It will be the same philosophy, even if the taxes are not the same,” says Leclerc.

Leclerc intends to stand out from the hard discounters (Lidl, Aldi, etc.) by offering the widest possible range of products. “Others offer a limited choice. Our model is to let consumers choose the harmony of their shopping baskets. The idea is to be the cheapest on the whole of what we call the back of shelves and on needs that are not just food. Our commitment is to have the same policy as in France.”

“I’m 71 years old, I was born in my parents’ shop. They didn’t have a central buying office and they were the cheapest. What makes us cheaper is that we want to be,” he repeats, before promising: “We will make our contribution to Luxembourg’s purchasing power.”

How will it be organised?

As has already been said, E. Leclerc eventually wants to hand over the keys to the truck to its franchised store owners, as is the practice in France. The managers will therefore be independent. They will work with ScapEst, based in Châlons-en-Champagne.

As far as the workforce is concerned, E. Leclerc is committed to maintaining the 1,200 jobs at the future former Cora, Match and Smatch shops. Michel-Édouard Leclerc met some of the staff during his first visit. The same applies to top management and marketing: for the time being, the organisational chart will not change, or only marginally.

“It’s rare to have a calm approach when you’re taking over shops,” smiles Leclerc, in an amused jibe at the major manoeuvres underway in France with the dismantling of the Casino group and the takeover of its stores by Auchan and Intermarché.

What will be the Luxembourg “touch”?

“For Luxembourg companies, it could be outlets,” suggests Febvre. Luxlait products are sold in its shops in France. In any case, “the aim is to make no changes whatsoever” to the range of products from the grand duchy and the greater region offered by the three brands due to disappear.

The group also intends to make Luxembourg “a laboratory” for convenience stores, an area of activity “that we don’t completely master,” says Leclerc. In this respect, the Smatch shops will be “an experiment” with no change of name: there will be no Leclerc Express, and all the addresses in the network will be identified under the single name: “E. Leclerc.”

What are the prospects?

Bookshops, opticians, car hire, travel... In France, E. Leclerc is present on almost every front. “Initially,” there are no plans to diversify in Luxembourg. “We need to capitalise first and do things properly,” says Febvre.

With just one service station out of the 27 shops in its portfolio, fuel is not a coveted niche either. “We’re very well positioned in France, but the market here is totally different.”

“We have to learn, we remain humble,” adds Leclerc. Highly publicised in France, the 71-year-old also intends to make his presence felt in Luxembourg. With the same outbursts? “Here, there are perhaps fewer reasons to fight against the institutions, because they are pro-European. The reasons for fighting are not the same.” The retail battle in Luxembourg has only just begun.

This article was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.