Portrait of groups in trade High weight and strong specialisation

Almost one commercial company in ten formed part of a group in 2016. Although a minority by their number, these companies employ 71% of employees and generate 80% of the trade turnover. Group organisation is particularly present in food superstores and the wholesale trade. While food retail trade companies more frequently belong to French groups, foreign groups are established mainly in wholesale, where they dominate in distribution of computers and pharmaceutical products. Among these groups under foreign control holding sales subsidiaries in France, eight out of ten are European. Groups under German control are the most common, except in wholesale where American groups strengthened in 2016.

Groups whose main activity is commercial are highly specialised. However, wholesale groups are distinguished by the size of their industrial activity. Groups of 250 employees or more concentrate two-thirds of all employees. In particular, it is retail trade groups that have the most employees; the largest of them are concentrated in food superstores, personal accessories and equipment for the home. In 2015, French commercial groups employed 1.1 million people in their foreign subsidiaries. The major retail trade groups are the most internationalised; their presence is particularly strong in Brazil and China.