Carrefour Brasil has a 11.4% increase in gross sales for the fourth quarter

Carrefour Brasil rose 11.4% in gross sales for the fourth quarter compared to the same stage in 2018, to R$ 16.84 billion, the retail network said Wednesday (22). The figures exclude fuel sales. The company said sales at stores open for at least a year grew 7.6% in the period, driven by a 12.7% advance in the Carrefour flag. The division of attackejo, the largest of the group in the country and represented by the flag Atacadão, had same sales growth stores of 5.5%. The data was released a few days after rival GPA published a sales report pointing to a 4.3% rise in same-store sales of the flag of attacking Assaí in the fourth quarter, while on the other supermarket fronts the group there was a drop of 0.9%. It was not immediately clear whether the data are comparable. According to carrefour Brasil's report, the performance of same group stores in the fourth quarter was the best for the period of the last five years, despite the "trend of inflation volatility in several categories, especially meat". The company opened 20 Atacadão stores in 2019, within the target, of which 8 in the fourth quarter. The company said it gained a 2.2-point stake in hypermarkets in the fourth quarter and "multi-format" retail. Sales in the Black Friday period at the end of November rose 40%. E-commerce sales increased 40% to R$ 802 million, advancing almost 52% in the year to R$ 2.15 billion. Carrefour Brasil ended 2019 with 692 stores in the country, of which 186 from Atacadão. In addition to the 20 openings of attacking stores, the group opened three supermarkets, five convenience stores and two gas stations. The company's shares closed on Wednesday with a rise of 1.35%, while the Ibovespa showed an appreciation of 1.17%.