Even though Carrefour rarely admits the impact of the boycott on its shrinking profit margins, various evidence suggests that the collective boycott of the company played a role in its ongoing crisis.
The French retail chain Carrefour Group announced a decline in its net profits for the last fiscal year to 723 million euros, compared to 1.66 billion euros in the previous year.
The company attributed the decline to the retail market environment still being affected by high inflation rates.
These results also come in the wake of a widespread popular boycott in the Middle East, following the French brand’s perceived support for Israel in the war on the Gaza Strip.
In November of last year, Carrefour stores were forced to close all their branches in Jordan as a result of the boycott.
This decision followed extensive popular boycott campaigns targeting Carrefour in Jordan and other brands considered supportive of Israel.
The campaigns in Jordan led to a drop in Carrefour’s sales by more than 75% since the start of the Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip in October 2023.
Facing Strong Boycott over Support for Israel, Carrefour Closes Jordan Branches
The chain’s net profits, excluding special items, reached 1.08 billion euros, equivalent to 1.61 euros per share, compared to 1.22 billion euros, or 1.71 euros per share in 2023.
Carrefour’s net sales for the past year amounted to 85.44 billion euros, compared to 83.27 billion euros in the previous year, while total revenues reached 87.27 billion euros, compared to 84.9 billion euros during the same period.
Even though Carrefour rarely admits the impact of the boycott on its shrinking profit margins, various evidence suggests that the collective boycott of the company, not only in the Middle East but worldwide, played a role in its ongoing crisis.
Boycott Campaign
Last November, the French multinational retailer and wholesaling corporation Carrefour announced that it would shut down all its branches in Jordan, a step viewed as a result of the boycott movement the chain underwent since the start of the war on Gaza in October 2023.
The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement has called on consumers to boycott the French chain.
“In March 2022, the French Group Carrefour announced a franchise partnership with Electra Consumer Products (ECP) and ECP’s retail subsidiary Yenot Bitan, both active in the illegal Israeli settlement enterprise,” a statement in the BDS website reads.
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The controversy surrounding the French company deepened since the start of Israel’s genocide on Gaza, when Carrefour reportedly sent Israeli soldiers “gifts of personal packages,” according to the BDS movement.
Although the retail company tried to distance itself from responsibility, BDS argues, “the company is complicit in Israel’s crimes as long as its business is directly or indirectly aiding and abetting apartheid, genocide and human rights violations.”
BDS vowed in its statement that the boycott call will remain intact “until Carrefour takes concrete steps to end its complicity with Israeli apartheid and illegal military occupation and respects the rights of the Palestinian people.”
(PC, AJA)
