Business Environment France

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Global Analysis Report

Business Environment

France

May 2014

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

France presents a strategically advantageous export market for Canadian exporters for several reasons:

• The economy is the fifth-largest in the world, and second- largest in the European Union (EU).

• The World Bank (2013) ranks France 36th out of 189 economies on the ease of trading across borders.

• France’s geography places it as an ideal port-of-entry into the EU.

• Once signed, Canada’s free trade agreement with the EU will result in close to 94% of agricultural tariff lines becoming duty-free for Canada.

• The United States Commercial Office reports that France’s retail network resembles that found in North America.

• France has the second-highest food retail sales per capita in Europe.

• Chained operators have a strong hold in the French consumer foodservice market, outperforming independent operators.

• France’s consumer foodservice sales through travel locations have been on an upward trend, and are on track for the most impressive growth in the foodservice sector for 2013.

COUNTRY SNAPSHOT

France is centrally located in Europe with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of approximately US$2.7 trillion in 2013, and is the world’s fifth-largest economy. Total trade for France in 2012, was down by US$70 billion, and rested at US$1.2 trillion (Global Trade Atlas, 2013). France is a member of the G-8, the EU, the World Trade Organization and the Organization for Economic Development (OECD), and is considered to be a leading global economic player. Furthermore, France is the second-largest economy in the E.U. Canadian agri-food and seafood trade with France in 2012 totaled US$1.1 billion, ranking it 20th (out of 238) on the country’s trading partner list. The main agriculture and agri-food exports to France, from Canada, are beverages, miscellaneous grain seed, fish and seafood, dairy, eggs and honey, cocoa, miscellaneous food, meat, edible fruit and nuts and preserved food.

Exporters to France generally face more competition from European companies than from Asian ones. Countries such as Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and Italy all top the list of suppliers of agri-food and seafood into France. Positioned at the heart of the world’s largest market, France offers a favourable economic environment to potential exporters.

STATE OF THE ECONOMY

The French economic model is that of a provider role that cushions citizens, redistributes wealth and props up demand in difficult times. To finance its plans, the government raised the main Value Added Tax rate from 19.6% to 20%, as of January 1, 2014. The unemployment rate growth pattern in France is similar to that of the rest of the E.U. region. Increases seen 2012, however, indicate the pace of growth is slowing for France, more so than that seen in the rest of the E.U. For 2012, France’s unemployment rate was 10.2%, and the E.U.’s was 10.5%.

RFI News reported that France’s economy entered into a recession in the first quarter of 2013, based on weak production output, consumption and investment. Fluctuations were seen, however, with France’s US$2.7 trillion economy shrinking 0.1% in the third quarter, slowing from a growth of 0.5% in the previous three months, according to National Institute of Statistics and Economic Policy (INSEE), France’s official statistics agency. While imports continued to rise, exports showed little momentum compared with the preceding quarter. French economic activity was widely expected to slow after the economy surged out of a shallow recession in the second quarter because of one-off factors like exceptionally high electricity production brought on by cold weather. INSEE reported that domestic demand was flat in the third quarter while investment fell 0.6% and household spending rose 0.2%. French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said that the weak third-quarter reading was due to temporary factors like a slowdown in aircraft orders and he said he stood behind his growth forecast of 0.1 to 0.2% for 2013 overall. Adding its voice to a growing chorus calling for France to carry out more reforms, the Organization for Economic Development (OECD) indicated that growth of France’s per capita GDP was amongst the lowest in the OECD over the 20 years.

France Economic Overview and European Union Comparative

Geograraphy Categories 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 France - % growth Inflation 2.8 0.1 1.5 2.1 2 0.9 EU - % growth Inflation 4.3 0.8 1.7 3 2.6 1.7 France - US$ mn Exports 608,543.10 476,258.20 516,910.90 584,822.70 557,251.80 566,551.10 EU - US$ mn Exports 5,822,519.80 4,508,404.20 5,053,210.40 5,923,019.80 5,673,256.30 5,897,101.90 France - US$ mn Imports 715,342.80 560,672.00 608,599.50 710,990.90 664,655.00 676,823.20 EU - US$ mn Imports 6,096,716.90 4,575,848.30 5,165,175.20 6,040,443.30 5,667,932.10 5,788,200.70

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France Economic Overview and European Union Comparative - Forecast

Geograraphy Categories 2014 2015 2016 2017

France - % growth Inflation 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9

EU - % growth Inflation 1.9 2.1 2.1 2.2

France - US$ mn Exports 595,325.40 - - -

EU - US$ mn Exports 6,327,015.60 - - -

France - US$ mn Imports 749,668.80 - - -

EU - US$ mn Imports 6,251,852.30 - - -

THE BUSINESS OF TRADE

Conducting trade across borders is becoming increasingly important for business. Inefficiencies in documentation requirements, port operations, infrastructure and burdensome custom procedures all lead to extra costs and delays for both importers and exports. From a global perspective, France ranks 36th out of 189 economies on the ease of trading across borders, according to the World Bank.

According to the World Bank (Doing Business in France) on average, it takes 11 days to execute the procedures required, once goods arrive for import into France. Since 2010, this number has been unchanged, however, France is falling behind the regional OECD average which has been in steady decline, and currently sits at 10 days (for 2013). France requires only two documents upon import, and the cost per import container was US$1,445 in 2013. In a comparative of surrounding geographies, the time required to import into France indicates long delays, when compared to Belgium (8 days), Germany (7), Spain (9), Switzerland (8), and the U.K. (6). The container cost across these countries shows France charges the most, however, the documentation process for the country is the lowest of those in the comparable economies. In 2009, France simplified customs clearance procedures, by implementing electronic custom declarations and removing the need for other documents. In a breakdown of the procedures to import to France, it takes 5 days for documents to be prepared (US$300); custom clearance and technical control require 1 day and cost US$150; three days are needed to cover the port and terminal handling (US$315), and two days to allow inland transportation and handling (US$680). Commercial disputes can be a concern for many importers and knowing a country’s ability to resolve these disputes through courts is important when selecting an export market. In this regard, France ranks very well at seven out of 189 economies world-wide placing it well below the regional OECD average for 2013. According to the World Bank, contract enforcement takes 395 days, costs 17.4% of the value of the claim and requires 29 procedures. The OECD average for the E.U. is 529 days, costs 21% of the value of the claim, and requires 31 procedures.

The table on the next page lists the World Banks overall "Ease of Doing Business" rank (out of 189 economies) by topic and by rank. As can be seen, half of the indicators for France show a drop over the past year, however, they have made gains in cross border trading which is a good start to improve their ability to attract business to their country.

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Doing Business in France World Bank Group Ranking 2013

Topics DB 2014 Rank DB 2013 Rank Change in Rank

Starting a Business 41 29 -12

Dealing with Construction Permits 92 74 -18

Getting Electricity 42 41 -1

Registering Property 149 150 +1

Getting Credit 55 52 -3

Protecting Investors 80 80 no change

Paying Taxes 85 54 +2

Trading Across Borders 69 37 +1

Enforcing Contracts 7 7 no change

Resolving Insolvency 46 44 -2

Positive=Doing Business (DB) reform making it easier to do business. Negative=Doing Business reform making it more difficult to do business.

Source: Doing Business, World Bank Group, 2013.

Regulations

Companies putting distribution, franchising and agency arrangements in place need to ensure that the agreements are in accordance with EU and member state national laws. EU Directive 86/653/EEC outlines the protection standards for self-employed commercial agents who sell or purchase goods on behalf of their principals. These standards detail the rights and obligations of both parties, including remuneration; as well as conclusion and termination of the contract, including the notice to be given and indemnity or compensation to be paid to said agent. Foreign companies should be cautioned that the Directive states neither party can deviate from the conditions outlined therein, nor can they insert a clause specifying an alternate body of law.

The EU also addressed payment delays with Directive 2000/35/EC, covering all commercial transactions within the region, whether in the public or private sector (exclusive of transactions with consumers). According to this Directive, buyers have 30 days to make payment of goods and/or services, after which time the seller is entitled to collect interest (at a rate of 8% above the European Central Bank rate) and additionally must pay a compensatory cost recovery fee of 40 Euros. For business-to-business transactions a 60 day period can be negotiated. Sellers are also entitled to retain the title to goods until payment is satisfied, and may claim full compensation for all recovery costs.

Products destined for the EU must bare the “Conformité Europeenne” (C.E.) trade mark. The C.E. trade mark is mandatory in all 28 EU countries. The mark indicates that the product meets all applicable European health, safety, performance and environmental requirements. The Canadian Trade Commissioner Service can help guide exporters to obtain this trade mark. More info is available at www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca.

According to the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service for France, animal products coming into France must come from establishments approved by the EU. These include live seafood, seafood products, meat, meat-based products, dairy products and pet foods. Such products must also be accompanied by appropriate sanitary certificates. Some products can be imported commercially only by approved operators, and include tobacco and alcoholic beverages. Some agriculture or food products must be approved prior to importation (i.e. Genetically Modified Organisms, novel foods, etc).

Since 2008 (The Law on the Modernisation of the Economy – L.M.E.), the French government has made efforts to encourage more competition and commerce in France. Enacted L.M.E. policy provides more

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Page | 5 flexibility to retailers enabling them to directly negotiate the terms and conditions of sale and price, removing risk associated with discriminatory practices.

Since August 1994, the "Loi Toubon" requires that all advertising, labeling, instructions and promotional programs be in the French language. It is strongly recommend Canadian exporters establish contact with the Commercial and Agricultural trade commissioners, who can provide assistance such as arranging for local legal marketing representation to assist in this matter.

France’s “Healthy Eating Law” launched in 2007, requires all manufacturers to include healthy messages when promoting their products, in an effort to encourage citizens to eat a more balanced diet. Suppliers and retailers must include one of four approved health messages, and can be fined 1.5% of their advertising budget if they do not comply. The government also enacted a “fat tax” beginning in 2012, hiking selected food and drink products sales in restaurants, between 5.5% to 7%, to boost tax revenues and improve the health of the population.

In a move to exercise margin restraint, many major food retailers in France reached an agreement (2010) to not increase their gross margins on fruit and vegetable products during a period of proven market crisis (when prices paid to producers is significantly inferior to the average of previous years). This agreement has the potential to negatively impact the prices of similar imported product, so exporters to France need to pay close attention to the state of certain agricultural production within the country.

Tariffs

France’s tariffs and import regulations are governed by the EU, requiring the country to follow trade related business rules established by this governing body. Bringing 28 member states together has presented many challenges that the EU group is working on, including trade process cohesiveness. As part of this activity, a working group was created, called RALFH. The RALFH group consists of customs

managers from Rotterdam, Antwerp, Le Havre, Felixstowe and Hamburg, whose goal is to gain a level of co-operation and co-ordination between customs administrations, by creating an equal application of the

anticipated customs procedures, as part of the EU project Customs 2002.

The RALFH contact for France, is located at the port of le Havre, and can be reached by phone at +33-235195102.

The Canadian government reached a trade agreement in principle, with the EU in October 2013. Once the agreement is in force, close to 94% of agricultural tariff lines will be duty-free for Canada, which will give these exporters a clear advantage over the competition.

DISTRIBUTION AND SALES

Foreign companies can benefit by employing the services of a French sales agent for the marketing of their products in the French market. The sales agents act on the company’s behalf as an intermediary. These agents are responsible for negotiating, and can be empowered to sign, contracts for sales, purchases, leases and for the provision of services in the name of, and on the behalf of their principals. They often work for more than one company, and are usually responsible for a defined geographical area and/or sector of activity. Full or part commissions are the usual forms of fees paid to the agent, once all transactions have been completed. Sales agents are considered to be external suppliers and not salaried employees, highlighting the need for specific rules when agreements with them are terminated. Small companies often prefer to use sales agents as a flexible and inexpensive means of introducing their products to foreign markets, rather than establishing a French-based entity (i.e. a branch or a subsidiary). Unlike North America, the French government has identified specific times in the year when merchants can put their products on sale. As a result, there are two end-of-season sales periods: January and June

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Page | 6 or July. Additionally, there are two five-week permissible sales periods, plus two weeks of promotional sales (where stores cannot sell at a loss), or floating sales ‘les soldes flottants’ that do allow stores to sell at a loss. In order to sell, outside of these times, retailers would be required to complete vast amounts of paperwork.

The Retail Network

France’s retail network resembles that found in North America. Both large department store chains and small proprietorships in France are adopting new retail trends. Historically, small-and-medium-sized family-owned firms accounted for most of France’s wholesale and retail trade, however, they are rapidly losing ground to hypermarkets.

Sales and Drivers

Selling products in France has historically been similar to other developed countries, with buying decisions based on quality, price and after-sales support. PlanetRetail has reported a change, however, with price now being the number one preoccupation of French consumers. This conversion is being driven by higher living costs. As a result, this price focus has pushed economy lines’ popularity ahead of higher priced branded goods.

Retail Food Sector

PlanetRetail reports that food retail sales in France accounted for nearly 60% of the nation’s total retail sales in 2013, ranking it as having the second-highest food retail sales per capita (US$4,312 as of Nov. 2013) in Europe (behind Switzerland). Hypermarkets dominate the nation’s food retail scene but some have been reporting sluggish sales amidst the credit crunch (Carrefour). Grocery retail sales have been positively impacted by the increased emphasis on price cutting in France and have steadily increased by around 2-3% year-on-year following the recession.

The French food retail sector is commonly divided into two areas: Grande Distribution (hypermarkets, supermarkets and discount stores) and Commerce de Proximité (neighbourhood stores). Supermarkets and neighbourhood stores are the dominant format and accounted for more than 37% of the grocery market share in 2013. Hypermarkets and superstores account for the next largest market share format with more than 32% of the grocery market share.

Market share of discount retailers has increased considerably over the past years, at the expense of the larger stores. The economic crisis and lower purchasing power have worked in discount stores’ favour. However, the discount sector has begun to lose momentum, where discount retailers reached an 8.4% market share in 2008, only 8.2% in 2010 and 8.6% in 2013.

Developments in recent years have impacted the country’s retail food distribution system, when in 2006 French legislation limited the number of new hyper/supermarket openings. This in turn, prompted large stores to expand their existing surface areas. A modification of French legislation in 2008, liberalized the market resulting the openings of new smaller sized stores.

The Top 5 Grocery Retailers in France

PlanetRetail shows, the grocery trade in France is dominated by few, and is highly concentrated. The top five players represented around 55% of the national market in 2013.

Similar to European grocery retailing, France’s grocery market is led by Carrefour, with its extensive network of stores which includes Carrefour and Carrefour Planet hypermarkets, Carrefour Market supermarkets and Carrefour City/Carrefour Contact neighbourhood stores. Carrefour is losing ground however, which is being blamed on inconsistent price positioning over the past few years.

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Page | 7 Leclerc sits in second place in France, with almost 500 hypermarkets and superstores. Number three is ITM (Intermarché), a chain that has benefitted from a nationwide store remodelling program and a strong price/quality perception. Fourth-ranked Casino operates under a multi-format grocery strategy in France. This has led the grocer to scale back its struggling hypermarkets, enabling the chain to build up its network, with small-box outlets, discount stores and variety stores. The top five list is rounded out with Système U, which is an amalgamation of independent grocery retailers. Most of these stores trade under the Hyper U and Super U banners, although the retailer is also building up its network of smaller-sized stores.

France Top Grocery Retailers 2013

Company Number of Outlets Total Sales Area SQ. FT. Average Sales Area SQ. FT. Grocery Banner Sales US$ billions Grocery Spending Market Share % Carrefour 4,732 58,696,798 12,404 43.4 15.46 Leclerc 1,025 35,703,579 34,833 38.1 13.86 ITM (Intermarché) 2,637 47,390,957 17,972 34.1 12.40 Système U 1,545 25,148,919 16,278 26.9 9.80 Casino 8,067 42,785,801 5,304 22.8 8.30

Source: Planet Retail, 2013

Food Retail Buying Groups

In France, the larger retailers have their own buying organizations, with a few also buying for other retailers and franchisees, stated PlanetRetail. Carrefour, Auchan, Intermarché, Système U and Casino conduct their buying through their Switzerland offices, while Leclerc’s international buying office is located in Belgium. Switzerland is the favoured location for French retailers buying offices, due to its advantageous location (in the heart of Europe), making it easier to approach the headquarters of large companies.

Carrefour’s world trade office in Geneva has allowed this large manufacturer to expand their international sales. Auchan International and ITM’s Agenor buying offices are also based in Geneva. Système U's international buying office is located in Zurich, yet source many of their products through European Marketing Distribution (EMD). Leclerc was buying through Coopernic before it was excluded in September 2013 from the new alliance formed by the members of Coopernic.

When it comes to small and medium companies, many use the Francap buying co-operative, which has also sourced many branded goods through the Provera buying group, and some discount products through the Belgian buying group Bloc.

FOODSERVICE ENVIRONMENT

Competition between cafés/bars, full-service restaurants and fast food outlets is balanced, however, independent outlets yielded ground to chains, allowing them to enjoy good performance in 2012, demonstrating the best growth in value sales terms since 2007, according to Euromonitor International.

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Page | 8 In 2011, full-service restaurants recovered from years of negative growth. Chains and independents both became more creative and adaptive to consumer demand for more accessible pricing and shorter service times. Fast-food and 100% take away outlets have been improving the health aspect of their menus to offset the negative connotations normally associated with junk food. All of these changes are causing fast food restaurants to become more like casual dining and casual dining to become more like fast food. Chained operators have a strong hold in the French consumer foodservice market, with their values sales, outlet numbers and transactions outperforming independent operators. Their success is attributed to accessible prices and authenticity. Chained operators in France have also benefited from their strong network of franchises throughout the country.

France Market Sizes Historic Foodservice Values - US$ millions

Categories 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Consumer Foodservice by Type Total 61,776.60 60,562.20 60,254.50 61,244.30 61,145.30 Chained Consumer Foodservice 14,404.10 15,230.40 15,802.50 16,328.40 16,784.50 Independent Consumer Foodservice 47,372.50 45,331.80 44,452.00 44,915.80 44,360.80 Pizza Consumer Foodservice 4,664.40 4,660.30 4,732.70 4,751.80 4,699.60 Consumer Foodservice by Location

Consumer Foodservice Through Standalone 51,669.60 50,541.30 50,230.00 51,080.20 50,967.70 Consumer Foodservice Through Leisure 963.3 976.9 973.6 1,016.00 1,024.30 Consumer Foodservice Through Retail 3,076.60 3,163.50 3,205.40 3,238.80 3,277.90 Consumer Foodservice Through Lodging 4,498.00 4,264.40 4,196.10 4,190.40 4,089.80 Consumer Foodservice Through Travel 1,569.10 1,616.10 1,649.40 1,718.90 1,785.60

France Market Sizes Forecast Foodservice Values - US$ millions

Categories 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Consumer Foodservice by Type Total

61,525.60 62,151.60 62,907.50 63,915.10 65,035.30 Chained Consumer Foodservice

17,501.20 18,360.10 19,263.60 20,179.60 21,100.80 Independent Consumer Foodservice

44,024.40 43,791.50 43,643.80 43,735.50 43,934.50 Pizza Consumer Foodservice

4,662.60 4,622.30 4,630.30 4,668.10 4,745.70 Consumer Foodservice by Location

Consumer Foodservice Through Standalone

51,209.70 51,624.40 52,149.90 52,897.90 53,738.60 Consumer Foodservice Through Leisure

1,035.80 1,045.10 1,053.80 1,069.10 1,089.90 Consumer Foodservice Through Retail

3,364.60 3,485.00 3,642.30 3,792.20 3,945.20 Consumer Foodservice Through Lodging

4,025.10 3,989.40 3,984.10 3,986.70 4,014.00 Consumer Foodservice Through Travel

1,890.90 2,007.70 2,077.40 2,169.20 2,247.50

Source for both tables: Euromonitor International, 2013.

France attracts over 75 million tourists every year, making tourism an important factor in the country’s economic wealth. The impact can be especially seen in the foodservice industry. Consumer foodservice sales through travel locations have been on a steady climb over the past five years, with the most impressive growth seen in 2013, showing 5.9% growth over 2012. A broader view of all foodservice locations, shows the next highest growth format was the foodservice through retail locations reaching 2.6% growth from 2012 to 2013.

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Page | 9 Euromonitor International’s forecasted growth suggests foodservice sales through travel locations will reach their peak in 2014 at 6.2%, from which point growth will be slowed, but still show respectable returns. By 2015, foodservice sales through retail locations will dominate, averaging 4+ percentage points each year, until the end of 2017. Looking at chained versus independent operator forecasts, independent operators will continue to show negative growth from 2008 to 2015, where the venues will begin to see a modest recovery, and enjoy a projected growth of 0.2% in 2016, and 0.5% in 2017. Chained operators will continue to see solid sales growth averaging 4.7% growth each year from 2013 til 2017.

MARKET CHALLENGES

• Time required to import into France indicates longer delays as opposed to that of Belgium (8 days), Germany (7 days), Spain (9 days), Switzerland (8 days), and the U.K. (6 days).

• Products not bearing the CE mark, will need extra time to fulfill regulation requirements before entry into France or any other E.U. country.

• Product pricing is now the number one preoccupation of French consumers. As a result, this price focus has pushed economy lines popularity ahead of higher priced branded goods.

• Many major food retailers in France agreed in principle in 2010, not to take advantage of pricing fluctuations paid to producers as a result of a “proven market crisis” where producers could receive significantly inferior prices to the average of previous years bounty. This agreement puts another emphasis on the limitations surrounding competitive pricing.

• The French government enacted a “fat tax” beginning in 2012, hiking selected food and drink products sales, between 5.5% to 7%, in restaurants. This needs to be taken into consideration when pricing products for import.

MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

• France is the largest country in the E.U. (by geography) and is seen as an advantageous port of entry into the E.U. region.

• France’s E.U. membership and Euro usage makes it easy to facilitate the movement of goods across the entire E.U. region, and positions the country at the heart of the world’s largest economic market.

• For 2013, France is showing a trade deficit of approximately US$110 million, higher than the total of US$107 million for 2012, showing a growing reliance on imports to satisfy growing consumer demand.

• The Canadian government reached a trade agreement in principle, with the E.U. in October 2013. Once the agreement is in force, close to 94% of agricultural tariff lines will be duty-free for Canada, which will give these exporters a clear advantage over the competition.

• France has the second-highest food retail sales per capita (US$4,312 as of Nov. 2013) in Europe.

• France’s 75 million tourists each year has made foodservice travel locations the leading growth sector for sales with healthy growth forecasts for the foreseeable future.

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Resources

Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement

http://www.actionplan.gc.ca/sites/default/files/pdfs/overview.pdf

Canadian Trade Commissioner Service France.

http://www.actionplan.gc.ca/en/content/ceta-aecg/canada-eu-trade-agreement, and

http://www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca/eng/document.jsp?did=7684&cid=113&oid=143

Euromonitor International. “Consumer Foodservice in France.” October 2012.

European Commission. European Economy. “Macroeconomic Imbalances. France 2013” Occasional Paper 136. April 2013.

http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/occasional_paper/2013/pdf/ocp136_en.pdf

RALFH

http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/resources/documents/ralfh3_en.pdf

HSBC Commercial Banking. “Doing Business in France.” 2012

https://globalconnections.hsbc.com/downloads/country_guide-fr-march-2013.pdf

Invest in France Agency. “Law of Modernization of the Economy.”

http://www.ambafrance-uk.org/IMG/pdf_Law_of_Modernisation_of_the_Economy.pdf

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. France Country Ecomonic Overview.

http://www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/Overview%20France%202013.pdf

PlanetRetail. “France Country Report.” December 2013

RFI News. “France’s economy falls into recession.” May 15, 2013.

http://www.english.rfi.fr/france/20130515-france-entered-recession-start-2013

U.S. Embassy of the United States. U.S. Commercial Service. “Doing Business in France.” 2012. http://www.buyusainfo.net/docs/x_1696410.pdf

World Bank. “Economic Profile. Doing Business in France.” June 2013.

http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/france, and

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Business Environment: France

represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food (2014).

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