A new name for Système U. The 4th French food distributor, will now be called “Cooperative U” to “reaffirm the choice of an agile, supportive and sustainable cooperative model”, without effect on the brands of its stores, according to a press release on Thursday . “The Hyper U, Super U, U Express and Utile brands are retaining their names for their customers.” The announcement was made by the group’s CEO Dominique Schelcher “in front of the 1,500 associates gathered on May 16 and 17 at a conference.”
Like the sector leader E.Leclerc and N.3 Intermarché, Coopérative U is a group of independent bosses. If store owners pool their forces for certain tasks, notably the purchasing of products then sold on the shelves, they are free business leaders (under certain conditions) to set social policy or investment terms in stores, for example. . Coopérative U boasts 1,726 points of sale in France and abroad, “as well as more than 75,000 employees”. In France, it now claims an 11.8% share of a market of which E.Leclerc holds almost a quarter and Carrefour around 20%.
The group sets “the objective of reaching 15% market share by 2030”, and “also aspires to increase its market share in the fresh sector, as well as to intensify its presence in the field of” online business. “To achieve this objective, the cooperative has invested 1 billion euros in 2024: 550 million euros in the renovation of stores, 450 million euros in collective tools, logistics and information systems” , further specifies Coopérative U in its press release.
