French retailer Carrefour is returning to India at a time when the country's retail market is no longer simply a contest between neighbourhood stores and supermarkets. Quick commerce has changed shopping habits in cities, while Reliance, DMart and large digital platforms have built formidable distribution networks.
But that complexity is also what makes India attractive to Carrefour. The market is expanding fast, but no single retail format has won it. Carrefour's second attempt is therefore less a bet on the old hypermarket and more an attempt to build a profitable, locally adapted omnichannel business.
