Since 2022, Action, Decathlon and Leroy Merlin have combined to occupy the top three positions in all fields. This is not the case for Picard, who has made a spectacular comeback in recent years.
When we ask the French which brand they prefer, some brands come out ahead of others. We can draw this lesson from the 2024 edition of the rankings produced by EY Parthenon. First, sharing the podium for the third year in a row with all category champions. Action, Decathlon and Leroy Merlin.
Among these three favorites of the French, you have two French icons who have monopolized the first places for years and a Dutch actor – Action – who came to France in 2012 and who in 2020 only took ninth place. A brand that has been imposed. Into the hearts of the French with a simple recipe: reduced prices, including products from well-known brands.
Action, Leclerc and Leroy Merlin crush their competitors
In a certain category of market brands, Action crushes all its rivals in terms of image. Almost one in two consumers (45.7%) prefer it over all others. And the second most mentioned brand, Gifi is close behind (9.6%).
The same goes for mass distribution where competition is fierce. E.Leclerc is surprisingly three out of ten French people’s favorite supermarket chain, far ahead of Carrefour (12.7%) and Lidl (12.7%). Here again, this clear victory is due to a strategy based on the “price” image. We prefer Leclerc because we believe its stores offer both a wide selection and affordable products. This preference is reflected in the actual frequency of hypermarkets and supermarkets. Leclerc is the brand that has gained the most market share in recent years.
The same rule applies to Leroy Merlin, which surpasses its competitors in the ranking of DIY brands preferred by the French (39.4% compared to 11.2% for Brico Depot and 190.8% for Castorama) and which shows a market share of the same order.
Picard is largely dominant in foods but its sales are stagnant
However, the correlation between demonstrated preference and actual attendance has not been tested in all areas. Thus, Picard, which today specializes in food preferred by 31.2% of French people. His fan base has been steadily increasing in recent years. However, the French king of frozen food faces stagnation in its sales from 2022. In other words, we may prefer Picard, but for stocking the fridge-freezer, at the moment, we prefer Leclerc.
Another special case: fashion brands. Vinted, the biggest clothing seller in France, is definitely the French’s favorite brand, but with 8% of its fans, it doesn’t really increase the gap with its rivals. Zalando (6.7%), followed by Coast of Zara (6.2%), are all roughly comparable. This is a feature of this universe, where, for the moment, we do not really see a marked preference for this or that brand.
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