Auchan to merge Drive & Collect banners | Progresiv

Retailer Auchan is in the process of merging its two Drive & Collect banners, Chronodrive and Auchan Drive, in France. The retailer's Managing Director of Drive in France confirmed the move to newspaper Linéaires, even though plans are not yet fully finalised. He said "The conversion of the first prototypes and the detailed planning, as well as the banners and final models will be communicated and shared with internal teams first once decided". He went on to say: "Of course, the convergence towards a single brand is in progress and the Drive banners will contribute accordingly".

Drive & Collect is a form of Click & Collect in which customers pick their orders up at a dedicated parking space. Groceries are then loaded directly into the boot of their cars. The duality of Auchan's presence in France with sister companies Chronodrive and Auchan Drive is becoming increasingly difficult to justify. Historically, Chronodrive was the pioneer of the Drive & collect segment in France; and therefore enjoyed a strongly differentiated business model and positioning. While superior in terms of execution and services, Chronodrive faced internal difficulties inherent to the substantial initial investments required for the creation of its network. The banner has also had to respond to competition as the Drive & Collect spree has swept across France; mostly driven by the price aggressive hypermarket operators. (www.lebensmittelzeitung.net)