Carrefour's Exit from South Korea

Carrefour began to enter international markets after a law was passed in France in 1963 to restrict the development of large stores. For its international expansion, Carrefour adopted the route of forming alliances with local partners. Its first international venture was in Belgium, where it opened an outlet in association with Delhaize Fréres-Le-Lion , in 1969.

Carrefour's first venture outside Europe was its hypermarket in Brazil in 1975. In foreign markets, Carrefour was careful to customize its operations to the preferences of local customers. Instead of selling imported French products, Carrefour sold local products through its stores. In 1978, Carrefour developed a hard discount store format, under the banner Ed, in France.

During the late 1980s, the economies of several Asian countries like Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand etc. were booming. In order to reap the benefits of this growth, Carrefour started its Asian operations by entering Taiwan in 1989.

It established a joint venture with Uni President Enterprises Corporation there. Its next destination was Malaysia, followed by China and South Korea (Refer Table III for details of Carrefour's entry into Asian markets).