Insee Focus · July 2023 · n° 305

30,000 brand network food retail outlets cover all living zones

In 2020, brand networks accounted for 80% of sales in the food retail sector in metropolitan France. This rate went up to 97% of sales in large-scale food retailing. In dense urban living zones, a food brand network sets up on average ten large-scale food retail outlets, compared with only one in rural living zones. Half of all brand network retail outlets are owned directly by the network head company. The owned outlets are closer to the head than outlets linked to the network by contract, which are the majority in rural living zones. Hard-discount networks have a strong presence in northern-east quarter of France, close to the German frontier.