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France 
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Hand-filtered
news from the online mainstream and specialist press, designed to give you topical insight
into French advertising and marketing, life and lifestyles..
When Madonna's latest album, 'Confessions on a dancelfoor', was released, tie-ins were set up with various telecommunications companies internationally to market the songs through a variety of channels. In France and in what what was probably the most sophisticated, multi-channel launch to date, Warner Music linked with France Telecom in a range of agreements, including the making available of hi-fi ringtones. But was it a success? Yes, says Thierry Chassagne, head of Warner Music France, speaking in the French newspaper Le Figaro. 'Confessions on a dancefloor' has so far sold 600,000 copies in five weeks, practically as many as the singer's previous album, Chassagne tells the paper. In terms of results of the link with France Telecom, Chassagne says that more than 500,000 digital sales have been achieved, with almost 200,000 hi-fi quality ringtones having been downloaded, in addition to 65,000 polyphonic excerpts from the first single taken from the album. In comparison, he says, most leading artists sell no more than between 60,000 and 90,000 ringtones. This degree of success has ruffled 'physical' outlets such as Fnac and Virgin Stores, Le Figaro counters and asks Thierry Chassagne how he would analyse their reaction. True, he admits, the additional digital channels upped the promotional pressure around the launch, but this was to the benefit of all those in the marketplace. Being digital, he continues, allowed Warner to measure consumer traffic and habits. If traditional outlet chains face competition from telecoms companies for future music sales, they themselves are going to have to look at getting into telephony, he concludes. The promotion around the Madonna album will then have served to open the dialogue between the different parts of an industry rapidaly changing in shape. To read a longer version of this article, in French, click on the link below (left) to be taken to the Le Figaro website. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit Warner Music France.
12.12.05
A state of nervousness persists between France's manufacturers of mass market consumer goods and the company's super- and hypermarket chains, says the newspaper Le Figaro, and with the application of a new law from January 1st 2006, it looks like things are about to get even more tense. Championed by the country's minister of commerce, Renaud Dutreil, the so-called 'Dutreil-Jacob' law is intended to being some order to the relationship between retailers and suppliers, Le Figaro says, in particular in regard of 'marges arrières', or discounts demanded by the supermarket chains in exchange for agreeing to stock the manufacturers' products. Otherwise referred to as 'expenses of commercial cooperation', these payments are typically equivalent to 10% of the price of alcohol, 20% of the price of shampoos and yogurt and as much as 60% of the price of products such as ham and cooked meats. Often, Le Figaro says, retailers have difficulty in explaining exactly what services have been supplied that could justify such fees, opening them up to potential sanctions for false invoicing, as was recently the case with Leclerc aand Aldi. The new law aims to gradually dismantle this system. At the same time, the French government is engaged in initiatives in defence of consumers and is applying pressure on manufacturers to visibly reduce prices. Major brands such as Danone, Gillette, Unilver, Coca-Cola and Nestlé claim that reducing their prices last year did not lead to any increase in volume sales. They are also now trying to allow for the effect of recent cost increass for items such as packaging into their retail price structure. Negotiations on price between such brands and retailers are intense, Le Figaro says. Faced with growing competition from discounters, supermarket and hypermarket operators have had to react by reducing their fixed costs, laying off staff. For their part, manufacturers face addiitonal pressure through the growth of own label products. To read this story for yourself, in French, click on the link below (left) to see it on the Le Figaro website. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit Danone's French website.
05.12.05
After much debate, France's National Assembly has finally adopted what is known as article 57 of the law on public health, says the newspaper Le Figaro. The article in question relates specifically to the advertising of food products but, as the heads of the French advertising agency association AACC tell the paper, rather than a step forward in protecting the public's health the law as approved is strongly disappointing. AACC president Hervé Brossard tells Le Figaro that his association has been working in close collaboration with the food industry, nutritionists and legal experts for over a year, as well as maintaining contact with politicians with a view to making the law as applicable and effective as possible. The decrees now published, however, will make the 'healthy' messages that accompany advertising for certain food and drinks products ineffective and unlikely to alter the eating habits of the French. Vice-president Christophe Lambert agrees that the law will prove counter-productive. "It's bad news for everyone", he says. "The information strips that go with the advertising campaigns will pollute the brands' messages without allowing the ads to communicate a clear and effective message in respect of health." "We are aware of the seriousness of the problem", he continues. "Childhood obesity and the concerns about other areas of the public's health mean action has to be taken. Advertising can play an active role in combatting this scourge by dealing directly with people's eating habits. But you have to respect the fundamental rules of communications. That will not be possible with these decrees when they are published next February or March. To read a longer version of this story for yourself, in French, click on the link below (left) to be taken to the Le Figaro website. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit the site maintained by the AACC or click here to see the full article translated into English by From Europe With Love.
30.11.05
French insurance firm Maaf Assurances is offering holders of its complementary health policy a discount of up to 40 euros per year if they consume products with anti-cholesterol properties sold under Unilever's Proactive brand, writes the newspaper Le Figaro. According to the two companies, who releaseda joint statement on Tuesday, the deal is destined to be a 'precursor' to other, similar initiatives and forms part of a drive to lower cholesterol levels and therefore lessen the risk of heart disease. Under the terms of the promotion, which will run under the name 'Pur bonus santé', policy holders will need to send their sales receipts to Maaf by 31st December 2006. For the first seven Proactiv products bought, they will receive a discount of 10 euros on the annual cost of their policy, rising to 22 euros per 14 products and 40 euros for 21 products, Le Figaro says. Products sold under the Proactive brand include margarines, dairy drinks and yogurts. According to Maaf and Unilever, around 3 million Frenchmen currently purchase Proactiv goods. Announcement of the deal follows closely on a similar arrangement announced by Unilever rival Danone, which will link with another insurance company - AGF - from the beginning of 2006, offering advantages to buyers of its Danacol cholesterol-lowering products. To read a longer version of this story, in French, click on the link below (left) to be taken to the Le Figaro website. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit Unilever's French website.
21.11.05
A wine maker in southern France is this week celebrating victory, having won his battle against a drinks multinational to call his produce what he wants to, writes the news agency AFP. Based in Cabestany, close to Perpignan, Jean-Philippe Beille thought nothing of naming his best wine 'Tinto absoluto' (which translates as something like 'absolutely very red wine'), AFP says. Little did he imagine, however, that the Swedish makers of the vodka brand Absolut would consider this an attempt to trade on the brand values that they have so cleverly built up over the years. Absolut's reaction was to object to Jean-Philippe registering the wine's name with France's trademark authority, the INPI, despite the fact that its maker was able to point to clear differences between a deep red wine and a clear vodka that hardly anybody drinks in the region in which he produces. 5,000 bottles were produced and everything seemed to be running well until one of the vineyard's Swedish clients requested that the packaging be changed, AFP says. Struggling to get the business back on its feet after the death of his father, Beille was keen to maintain his stance and unable to either accommodate the request or employ a lawyer to fight his corner in the French courts. "I defended myself with good sense", he tells the agency. "Firstly, the products have different colours. Then there is the fact that they are consumed differently". The dispute quickly caught the attention of the local and then the national press in France, fuelling a spirited movement of defence in favour of Beille. "Without really wanting to", Beille continues, "we became a symbol of Catalan culture". And a defiant one, at that, with slogans appearing such as 'Vodka no pasarà' ('No vodka here'). Now the vineyard is free to continue marketing its wine under the name it originally chose, "some buyers are suddenly deciding it's very good", says its maker. Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself, in French, on the website of Voila, which publishes news stories from AFP. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit the website set up especially to support Jean-Pierre Beille's defence of his 'tinto absoluto'.
26.09.05
Like their counterparts elsewhere, from October 17th onwards, French fans of the singer Madonna will have to content themselves with listening to the first single taken from her forthcoming album, 'Confessions on a dance floor', until the full collection is released on November 14th. Unless, that is, they subscribe to France Télécom's mobile and cable services. In what is described by the newspaper Le Figaro as the most innovative promotion of a singer since the advent of digital media, Warner Music France and France Télécom have signed an agreement which allows the telecoms operator to distribute advances taken from the new album via a range of channels before the official release date. The agreement, Le Figaro says, covers ringtones for mobile phones, music downloads over the internet and even the purchase of videoclips via television. Over the first six months of this year, Thierry Cassagne, head of Warner Music France tells the newspaper, revenues derived from digitally-delivered music accounted for 3% of the group's total revenues. That proportion will now be boosted by the Madonna deal, which will see the first extract from the new album being made available for download by clients of France Télécom's Orange mobile phone service. In specially-edited, ringtone form, the tune will cost 3 euros per download, of which Warner will receive 60 cents. Five additional downloads will be made available on October 4th, plus a new version of the single, which will then be made fully available on October 17th. On that date the full multi-platform strategy will also kick in, with Madonna video content available via ADSL to subscribers. Using these and other tactics, Warner is hoping to achieve sales of the album of more than 700,000 and thus exceed the performance of the singer's previous disc. Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself, in French, on the Le Figaro website. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit Warner Music France.
09.05.05
Anybody planning any Wi-Fi marketing activity in France had better call their printers pretty quick, as a result of a decision made last week by the country's general commission for naming and terminology. The term Wi-Fi derives from the words 'wireless' and 'fidelity' and that, the commission ruled, made it an anglicism in a country which is fiercely keen to keep its own language alive. ASFI, too, has its roots based in real-life words, deriving from the term 'accès sans fil à internet' ('wireless internet access'). The ruling was published in the government's 'Journal officiel' last week, as was the view that instead of 'MMS' to describe multimedia messaging services, people should instead refer simply to 'messages multimedia'. It's goodbye, too, to 'hotspots' - those places, for example in an airport, where you can go to gain temporary broadband access to the internet. From now on, these will be known - in official language at least - simply as 'zones d'accès sans fil', or 'zones ASFI'. Finally, the commission reminds high-tech literates, the sender of unsolicited e-mail messages should not be referred to as a 'spammer', the English term, but an 'arroseur', which roughly translate as 'sprinkler'. Click on the link below (left)
to read this story for yourself, in French, on the Voila website. Alternatively, click on
the link below (right) to visit the site wifi.fr, which exists to serve as a centre for
news and discussion about
03.05.05
Intermarché, the French-based supermarket and hypermarket operator, is linking with Spain's Eroski and Edeka from Germany to form Europe's second-largest buying cooperative, writes the newspaper Le Monde. The link-up is a response to the pressures each company is facing on its home market, Le Monde says. Second only to Carrefour in terms of size, the alliance will be Europe's largest such gruping of independent retailers, with a combined turnover of € 75 billion. Called 'Alidis', the venture will not lead to a formal merger, but will enable the three companies to pool their buying power to obtain better prices from manufacturers. It mirrors consolidation among these, Le Monde says, as evidenced by Procter & Gamble's recent takeover of Gillette and the projected deal between Allied Domecq and Pernod Ricard. Intermarché's decision to join up with Eroski and Edeka was clearly forced on
it by conditions at home. "Carrefour, which is performing poorly on the stock market,
decided to launch a price offensive", Michel Pattou, head of Alidis, tells Le Monde.
"We couldn't not react. There are major influences on the market: consumer purchasing
power is not increasing and shoppers are deciding to channel more and more of their euros
into leisure and new technology, which explains a certain disaffection for brands and the
rise of hard discount".
25.04.05
Carrefour, the French-based hypermarket chain which pioneered the concept of stocking vast ranges of grocery non-grocery goods in enormous out-of-town, self-service outlets, the first of which it opened in 1963 at St-Geneviève-des-Bois, is currently facing tough competition and pressure to perform. One way in which it is to respond, says the national newspaper Libération, is to take come of the 'self' out of 'self service' by putting 350 head office staff back on the aisles, to improve customer service and with it, hopefully sales. Carrefour shoppers are used to making up their own minds and filling their own trolleys, Libération says, but they will now benefit from a little more of the human touch. "Perhaps we have become a little too dehumanised", a company spokesman tells the paper. The staff will be deployed as in-store sector heads with responsibility for looking after specific departments. The move, says Libération, marks something of a questioning of the whole concept of self service but is necessary, Carrefour believes, if it is to deliver adequate levels of in-store presentation and service. Calling it a transition from 'mass marketing' to 'targeted marketing, Jean-Lic
Delenne,Carrefour's director of social relations, admitted at a press conference this week
that: "it's always better to have ten people on the video and electronics counter
than six, especially at busy times of the year".
That, at least, is what appears to come out of the Megabrand/TNS Sofres survey published this week, which shows that familiar names such as Coca Cola, Danone and Skip have suffered a loss of image over the past five years. Since 2002, the percentage of respondents who would agree with the statement that it was 'in general, a good idea to buy a leading brand' has fallen by 18 points, the survey reports, while the number of those saying that they are 'prepared to stay loyal to their favourite brand, even if it is more expensive' is down this year by 14%. It gets worse: 69% say they gain no more pleasure from buying leading brands than they do from purchasing lesser ones and 57% say they tend to replace expensive products with cheaper ones if the end benefit is the same. The figures evidence the ground that has been gained, Libération says, by supermarkte own brands and 'hard discount' grocery retailers. Manufacturers' pursuit of innovation, the grocery trade weekly concludes, has not been proven to produce tangible or cinvincing results. While Marc Alias of Procter & Gamble tells the magazine that "you still have to launch relevant innovations that allow you to justify a price which is higher than that of the retailers", Eric Fouquier of brand consultants Thema, counters with the observation that: "the leading brands have to regain their legitimacy". To read this story for yourself, in French at the Libération website, click on the link below (left). Alternatively, to visit TNS Sofres, authors of the study, click on the link below (right).
A little explanation? Blingtones, its marketers say, is the "first rap and R&B music label whose content has been created specifically for mobile phones". Fabien Baunay, managing director of Plurimedia, the parent company of Blingtones, stresses that this is about more than just ringtones for mobile phones. "We work with the best sound and quality video producers", he tells the newspaper Le Figaro. The result: 3 million tunes sold since the service's launch in the United States at the end of 2004. One of those titles, Le Figaro says, shifted almost 500,000 copies, a record for the mobile phone industry. Baunay puts the market for personalisation of mobile phones at € 200 million, of which € 120 million is accounted for by ringtones alone. But to achieve turnover and connect with the target audience in the right way, it is essential to have the right content. Blingtones will therefore be working with well known (well in France at least) DJs such as DJ Cam and DJ Doze, Le Figaro says, to produce music available via the major mobile operators which can be downloaded for an average price of 3 euros and with a quality approaching that of MP3. To read a longer version of this story, in French, on the Le Figaro website, click on the link below (left). Alternatively, and to see/hear what's available through Blingtones, click on the link below (right).
04.04.05
The measure is designed to serve as an example of inflation which can be presented alongside official figures to make the reporting of economic development more understandable to consumers. Similar measures exist elsewhere in the world - for example the Retail Price Index (RPI), which is published in the UK in the form of a single figure reflecting the development in price of the most typically-bought products and services. The only problem with Breton's plan, says the newspaper Libération, is that Breton neglected to check with the Schiltigheim, Alsace-based manufacturer of most of the shopping trolleys used in French super- and hypermarkets, Caddie, which, in fact, owns the term 'caddie-type' as a registered trademark. The introduction of the 'typical shopping basket' was one of Breton's first acts on being appointed to office, the newspaper says. Its aim was to enable the Government to talk to the 'typical Frenchman'. Caddie has energetically defended its trademark rights in the past and has been quick to react this time, firing off a demand by registered post demanding that the minister uses another term. Looking for precedent, Libération says, one might point to Sony, which lost its rights to the Walkman name in 2002 after it was ajudged too generic. Nevertheless, as things stand, Caddie is right to defend its position and admits that it monitors the situation 'on a day-to-day basis'. The Government first became aware of the 'glitch' yesterday, Libération says. "Is that a problem", one of Breton's staff asks the paper, adding that the name has not yet been finalised. It remains to be seen, however, whether the 'typical shopping trolley' genuinely will get the opportunity to 'speak' to French consumers. To read a longer version of this story, in French, click on the link below (left) to see it on the Libération website. Alternatively, to visit Caddie, click on the link below (right).
29.03.05
It used to be simpler. "Vente à distance" simply translated as "mail order" and it was a fixture of the consumer landscape. Then came the internet and it has taken the public a while to get used to not always selecting the goods they wanted to order from a paper catalogue before receiving them through the post. Now, however, it seems that internet ordering is reaching the kind of critical mass which will serve to firmly establish it as a mainstream purchasing method. According to the French news agency AFP and driven, above all, it says, by the internet, sales of products and services "à distance" rose by 13% in 2004, the strongest rise for the past 10 years and reaching a total of € 11.9 billion during the year. The figures come from the French mail order association FEVAD and were published on Friday. FEVAD points out that such sales are the fastest growing in the nation, against a backdrop of retail sales which grew by only 1.4% during the year. Internet sales themselves were worth € 5.5 billion, FEVAD estimates (and excluding financial services), around half of total mail order value and over 50% higher than the previous year. 'Traditional' forms of mail order, FEVAD says, fell only slightly during 2004, from € 6.9 billion to € 6.4 billion. To read more of this article, in French, in the pages of AFP, follow the link below (left) to visit the Voila website, which publishes the company's releases. Alternatively, to experience online shopping, French-style, click on the link below (right) to visit one of the traditional leading players in the sector, La Redoute.
20.03.05
Faced with a growing number of instances of drivers reporting breakdowns relating to its cars' electronic speed regulators, writes the French newspaper Libération, Renault is launching a significant media campaign to encourage recent buyers of its cars to go back to the dealership and find out how the system works. Renault explains its decision as being due to the increasing interest shown by the media on the subject, Libération says, and held open days across its French network this weekend to cater for worried drivers. The move has been prompted by accidents such as that experienced by Bordeaux resident Christine Mourtier, who, Libération says, found that despite applying the brakes in order to cope with a traffic build-up 300 metres ahead of her, found that her Clio refused to stop. Earlier in the week, a Normandy resident was only able to stop after 47 kilometres, during which he had to be accompanied by police escorts. Another instance suggests that inability to understand the manner in which the system works may have led to death. Read more of this article, if you like, in French, by following the link below (left) to the Libération website. Alternatively, to visit Renault's French website, follow the link below (right).
France is getting ready, says the newspaper Le Figaro, to lament the passing of yet another brand, victim of a takeover by a bigger - and often foreign - company. In this case, the 'victim' is CCF, a fixture of the banking and retail landscape for over a century now. It follows, Le Figaro says, such familiar names as CGE, Promodès, Seita, Elf and others, such as Usinor. In this case, the reason is the decision by the bank's new owner, 'Chinese-Scottish' HSBC, to put all its acquired companies under the same banner. It's an established pattern. Brands have a price, however. "Throw that away and you're accepting that you may be destroying the value they represent", Marcel Botton, head of the naming agency Nomen tells Le Figaro. Nevertheless, the rate of brand failure or disappearance is high. Products fail. Eight out of ten launches are no longer on shelves three years later. Egg - the internet banking operation whose name always represented a challenge when gaining credibility among the French - is another recent financial example. Talbot, a name resuscitated by Peugeot in the 1970s but a confused brand proposition, serves as yet another. Other reasons for 'brand disappearance' can be the fact that they are 'eaten' by their prodigy. "Solex and Frigidaire have become synonymous with a certain product", says Georges Lewi, head of the BEC research consultancy. "They have come - like Coca Cola - to embody a value, a way of living". Currently most common, however, is death by rationalisation. Take Unilever, for instance, which has decided to cut the number of brands it markets from 1,200 to 400. With it, the company saves the costs associated with advertising and gaining listings in supermarkets. That, Le Figaro says, is why Orange is still around, while Bibop, Tatoo, Mobicarte, Itinéris and others aren't. It's the logic of finance and the logic of multinational rationalisation. There's more of this article and you're welcome to read it for yourself, in French, by following the link below (left) to the Figaro website. To visit CCF before it breathes its last breath, follow the link below (right).
11.11.04
"Hello, can you see me?" ('Allo, tu me vois'). That, says the newspaper Libération, is what mobile phone operator SFR is hoping callers will be saying from now on as France gets its first 3rd-generation mobile phone service. Originally promised by the company for March 2002, the facility is now available and, it is hoped, 500,000 users will have been attracted by the new technology by the end of next year. Not, it's true, typical users of mobile phones, but "conoisseurs". Previously referred to in France as 'UMTS', '3G' - which brings together full video capabilities with existing mobile phone functionality and is able to accomodate speeds of around 300 kbps, ten times more than existing handsets - is not the exclusive preserve of SFR, but the company does have an advantage over its competitors. It can, for example, offer eight handsets from top manufacturers while one of its leading competitors, Orange, can currently only offer four. Coverage is another important consideration. All over Europe, costly auctions have been held by national governments to determine which companies would first be able to take advantage of the new technology. SFR claims to be able to offer the new services in 64 of France's 104 largest communities, meaning it can reach 38% of the population and with a projection of 58% for next year. To read a fuller version of this story for yourself, in French, on the Libération website, click on the link below (left). Alternatively, to visit the SFR website and see the new '3G' services given prime exposure on the company's home page - just click on the link below (right).
01.11.04
France's economy minister, Nicolas Sarkozy - and, it has to be said, one of the most energetic occupants of that office in Europe - has announced a € 2.5 million promotional campaign to make the French aware of how by making minor adjustments to their driving behaviour, they can reduce the country's petrol-related energy bill by 10%, writes the news agency AFP. On Friday, Sarkozy launched what has been termed as the "chasse au gaspi en voiture" ("pursuit of car-related waste"), designed to encourage the French to make those savings by way of "simple, daily acts". "The French have to know", Sarkozy said, "that you can save a lot of money by looking after your car well - inflating the tyres to the correct pressure, buying a car that doesn't use too much petrol and that is not so polluting". Sarkozy's campaign is based around 10 simple pieces of advice, contained in approxiimately 20 million brochures to be distributed in the nation's service stations. Drivers will be promised that the savings to be made are the equivalent of five full tanks each year. To read a fuller version of this story for yourself, in French, on the AFP website, click on the link below (left). Alternatively, to visit the French government's French website - English version and, it has to be said, rather impressive - click on the link below (right).
25.10.04
Clear Channel, the media owner and outdoor advertising site operator, has had a ruling against it confirmed by the appeal courts and will now be obliged to take down 23 large-format poster sites it had erected in Vallée de la Rance, around the French town of Dinan. The sites were, the court ruled, illegal and the judgment could have ramifications for similar sites across France, increasingly the target of 'anti-advertising' lobbyists, says the newspaper Libération. The ruling was made on the basis that Clear Channel had violated environmental regulations operating in Dinan designed to ensure that the landscape retains its natural beauty. The court case was prompted by the interest group Paysages de France, which says it is opposed to "all forms of visual pollution". This is the first ruling of its type but given the principle, Clear Channel and other operators of such sites - such as JC Decaux, will clearly have to sit up and take notice. While the regulations are very precise, punctilious even, Benoît Busson, a spokesman for Paysages de France, tells Libération, they are largely inored because it is in the interests of both parties concerned in the transaction - the site operators who can sell the space and the local authorities who charge them for the location. "For the first time", Busson tells the paper, "we took on the poster company directly here. "Until now we had just gone after the authorities". Clear Channel is, in fact, France's second-largest operator of poster sites, smaller than Decaux but larger than the country's other, historic poster firm, Giraudy, largely as a result of its having taken over Dauphin "Given their size, it was a bit like David and Goliath", Pierre-Jean Delahousse, president of Paysages de France tells Libération. "But we wanted to try. And that encourages us to reorient our strategy in the direction of the poster companies". To read a fuller version of this story for yourself, in French, on the Libération website, click on the link below (left). Alternatively, to visit the Clear Channel's French website, click on the link below (right).
20.10.04
SNCF, the French railway service, is to launch a new product with which it hopes to face up to the increasing competitive pressure it is feeling from low-cost airlines, writes advertising and media magazine CB News. On 17th November, SNCF will introduce -TGV on its Paris-Marseille-Toulon route, CB News says, offering, for an initial period of three years, tickets sold over the internet at €19 in second class and €39 for first class. Reservations are possible four months in advance but are not reimbursable should the customer decide to cancel in the interim. The tickets give access to a special train divided into a "wellbeing" section and a "conviviality" section. SNCF, CB News says, hopes the scheme will help it to claw back between 2.5% and 3% market share on the Paris-Marseille route and thus restore its share of travel to 66%. To read this story for yourself, in French, on the CB News website, click on the link below (left). Alternatively, to visit the SNCF website, just click on the link below (right).
12.10.04
French cinemas and theatres will soon be able to install mobile phone scramblers, the country's industry minister Patrick Devejian said on Sunday. Devejian was endorsing a decision taken by France's telecommunications regulatory body, ACT, "authorising, within halls of entertainment, radio-electrical installations which will render mobile telephones inactive", says the newspaper Le Figaro. The permission will come into effect once published in the Journal Officiel, in which all new laws must appear. It will be subject, Le Figaro says, to two conditions: the scramblers must not cause an increased failure rate of calls made outside the theatre itself, nor must they affect the cinema's ability to comply with regulations relating to emergency calls. Cinemas and film distributors have been asking to be allowed to install such devices for some years with a view, on the one hand, to combating piracy and, on the other, to reducing the annoyance caused to cinema goers when mobile phones ring during a performance. To read a longer version of this story for yourself, in French, on the Le Figaro website, click on the link below (left). Alternatively, see the latest headlines in respect of attendance at French cinemas on the website of CBO Box Office by clicking on the link below (right).
11.10.04
France's finance minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, has been determined to make his presence felt recently - ordering, for example, retailers and manufacturers to agree the reduction of prices on a range of goods sold through super- and hypermarkets. A forthcoming report, however, could have a much more profound effect on the retail sector. In June, Sarkozy ordered a review of the so-called 'loi Galland', a law which places strict restrictions on relations between manufacturers and retailers, particularly in respect of 'marges arrières' - sums paid by suppliers to retailers to secure listings, determine shelf space and in-store display opportunities and so on (and which, in English, is probably best translated as 'backhanders'). The discounts are negotiated separately from the standard supplier terms and conditions imposed by the retailers. So significant have they become that they can account for 35% of a manufacturer's cost. The Commission Canivet, as the review body is called, may, says the news agency AFP, may impose even further limitations or even recommend striking the practice completely. For retailers, AFP says, the system restricts competition. They are not allowed, by law, to sell at below cost price, but the 'backhanders' offer them a guaranteed way of achieving a margin. Suppliers comply with the system because it rules out the chance that retailers will run an aggressive promotion against their interests. While Michel-Edouard Leclerc, head of the supermarket chain Leclerc, as called for the loi Galland to be "massively and brutally" modified, France's retail federation (FCD) prefers that any measures announced "give back flexibility" to the system and, above all, that they should be "progressive". The report by the Commission Canivet will be made public on October 18th. To read a longer version of of this story for yourself, in French, on the AFP website, click on the link below (left). Alternatively, to visit the Leclerc website, click on the link below (right).
07.10.04
Since 1991, marketers of alcoholic drinks in France have been barred from vaunting the 'subjective' qualities of their product under the terms of the 'Loi Evin' law. But a proposed amendment, due to be examined in the National Assembly on 13th October, could change all that, says the newspaper Libération. Although denounced by professionals engaged in the struggle against alcoholism, the proposal, which comes from France's wine-making community, suggests that, once more, promotion "should be able to contain references which relate to the qualitative aspects of the product". Although small changes were made, it passed through the Senate last week, heading for the National Assembly. French advertising agencies have been creative in their approach to the legislation in place, producing advertising which - although largely factual - exploits a kind of twilight zone between what directly relates to the product and what associations you can create in people's minds. The country's ministry of health is at pains to stress that there is no intention to alter the wording of the 'Loi Evin' while the author of the law itself, Claude Evin, says that if the proposals go through, his legislation will be "totally dismantled". To read the rest of this story for yourself, in French, on the Libération website, click on the link below (left). Alternatively, to read the entire text of the 'Loi Evin', which also governs promotion of tobacco products in the interests of pubilc health, click on the link below (right).
07.10.04
France's finance minister, Niclas Sarkozy, has given the country's banks and consumer associations three weeks to produce their 'first results' of a consultation process designed to improve relationships between the financial sector and consumers, particularly as regards the charges the latter pay. "I've set a three week deadline", Sarkozy tells the news agency AFP. "If there's a problem, they can resolve it; if there isn't, then they can tell us". Sarkozy was speaking, AFP says,
at a consultative meeting bringing together representatives of both groups. Consumer
associations have recently been denouncing the tariffs levied by banks as 'exorbitant'. To read the rest of this story for yourself, in French, on the Voila website where AFP news appears, just click on the link below (left). Alternatively, to visit a French bank, drawn at random before the relevant authorities, just click on the link below (right).
07.10.04
The 780,000 young French people due to become 18 years old in 2005 will be able to take out a free, 2-month subscription, to a generalist newspaper of their choice, writes the paper Libération. Libération will itself benefit from the extra exposure, as will other 'generalist' titles such as Le Figaro and Le Monde, but not specialist titles, such as the sporting daily L'Equipe, or freesheets such as Metro or 20 Minutes. This, at least, will be the case if a report handed to France's culture and communications ministry this week is accepted. That, Libération says, seems likely. Recipients will be given a personal identification number, allowing them to log on to the culture ministry's website and select the daily papre of their choice. Despite online registratoin, the subscription itself will be to a paper version of the newspaper. "The idea, its promotors say, "is to give young people the physical experience of receiving a daily newspaper". Who will pay? The report suggests that part of the cost be taken over by the state, while the publishers would offer the mailed-out paper for free. As for why newspaper publishers would be interested in the scheme, Libération points out that the new readers would go to boost their official readership figures - a very important factor when it comes to selling advertising space. Besides this, they would gain a valuable file of names and addresses. At the end of the two months, they might also hope to convert trialists into paying subscribers. The report what originally commissioned by Jean-Jacques Aillagon, Libération says, previous minster of culture and a person worried by the apprent disinterest of young people in the printed news. There are currently 1.4 million 15-24 year-olds in France who read a generalist daily, a figure that has fallen by 17.5% compared to 1994. To read the rest of this story for yourself, in French, on the website of Libération, click on the link below (left). Alternatively, to visit another of the newspapers mentioned in this story, just click on the link below (right) to go to the site of rival publication, Le Figaro.
01.10.04
France is to get its first TV channel carrying programming designed exclusively for the country's gay community, writes the advertising industry newsletter CB News. Pink TV will launch on October 25th on Canalsatellite, TOS and the leading cable services. Its positioning, CB News says, will be that of a 'mini-generalist', carrying gay/ non-mainstream films and series and porno films four days per week after midnight, alongside debates and magazine programmes. The new channel, which has a number of backers including TF1 and Canal+, will be backed by an initial €11.5 million. To read the rest of this story for yourself, in French, on the website of CB News, just click on the link below (left). Alternatively, to visit the fresh, new Pink TV website, just click on the link below (right).
24.09.04
After the rule of the 'little emperor', is it now time to turn attention to the spending power of adolescents, asks the newspaper Le Monde?
Elsewhere, H&M has announced that it will unveil the first of a change of stores aimed at younger females. Galeries Lafayette is investing almost € 8.5 million in a brightly-coloued space within its store incorporating features such as extra-large changing rooms, allowing two girls to change and compare together, Le Monde says, a range of 'street wear' clothing and background music selected and mixed by an on-site DJ. In addition, it is offering courses in knitting - something, it is said, which has turned into a true phenomenon in the United States. The reason for this fevered activity is the growing purchasing power of this section of the population. Accounting for 13% of consumers, it accounts for 26% of all purchases of clothing. Take a broader view and look at the 11-25 age group, Le Monde says, and you are talking about € 33 billion in spending power - up 35% over the past 5 years. According to the research agency, l'Institut de l'enfant, a young shopper's annual budget averages € 830, without factoring in the contribution of parents. And Galeries Lafayette are not the only ones to have realised the potential gain. Zara, for example, is looking to set aside spaces in its stores for this age group while La Redoute, the mail order company, has increased the number of pages in its catalogue given over to products for 15-25 year-olds by 65%. "Younger buyers are of particular importance", Bernard de Talhouët, head of La Redoute, tells the paper. "They bring with them a modern image and are able to exert a strong influence on other buyers' behaviour". To read the rest of this story for yourself, in French, on the website of Le Monde, just click on the link below (left). To read a longer English-language version, prepared by From Europe With Love, just click on the link below (right). Alternatively, and if you just want to shop, click here to visit the section of the Galeries Lafayette website dedicated to younger shoppers, Lafayette V.O.
20.09.04
Eight 'départements' from Paris and its surroundings have joined together to commission a €1.1 million campaign to demonstrate and build support for the city's bid to stage the 2012 Olympic Games, writes the French advertising magazine, CB News. Under the leadership of Jean-Paul Huchon, President of the Ile-de-France region, the eight have called on the ad agency Ogilvy to produce a campaign which will "allow Franciliens (as inhabitants of the area are called) to take on the challenge of organising the 2012 Games".
4,000 posters will appear in stations, on the metro, on bus shelters and in the press showing how the 8 départments stand a better chance of succeeding if they combine their strengths. To read this story for yourself, in French, on the website of CB News, click on the link below (left). Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to go to the official site of the Paris 2012 candidature and, in particular, to the site outlining the campaign and allowing you to see a sample visual from it (these also appear in the CB News article).
18.09.04
Recent takeover activity in the ad industry saw WPP continue in its quest for world domination, squeezing out its French rival Havas in the battle to acquire Grey. Havas, meanwhile, announced that Vincent Bolloré, not a familiar name in advertising circles, had upped his stake in its shares to 10.4%, prompting speculation about Bolloré's motives. What could these be, asks the French news agency AFP? Well that, it answers, is anybody's guess. Bolloré, it says, has a habit of disconcerting markets with his stock market raids. His current shareholding obliges him to explain his intentions within 5 days, but this is just the latest in a long line of manoeuvres which have earned Bolloré such contradictory nicknames in the past as the "little prince of cash flow", "safe breaker" and "il Scalatore" (the Raider). In August, Bolloré's group took a similar stake in a payment systems company, Ingenico. Asked then what his intentions were, he said that he "did not, in the short term, plan to take control of the company but reserved the right to modify his position depending on circumstances". Everyone now, AFP says, is expecting a similarly laconic phrase in regard of Bolloré's intentions at Havas. Click on the link below (left) to read a fuller version of this story on the website of Voilà, in French. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to go to explore the world of Havas, one of two major French-based advertising holding companies and owner of the Euro RSCG agency chain.
18.09.04
'Hard' discounters - retailers of aggressively low-priced grocery goods in minimalist surroundings - have increased their share of the French market to 12.7%, according to figures pubilshed on Friday. This latest figure represents a rise of 0.6%, says the news agency AFP, to the detriment of traditional supermarket chains such as Leclerc and Système U. Between June 2003 and June 2004, researchers TNS Sécodip says, 750,000 additional French households were attracted by the low prices on offer at chains such as Aldi, Lidl and Ed, with exactly two-thirds (66.2%) of the population currently using them on a regular basis. To see how some chains, such as Carrefour and Auchan, are reacting to this new competition, click here to be taken to another story on this page. Alternatively, click on the link below (left) to read a much fuller version of this story, in French, as reported by AFP. Or click on the link below (right) to see what's on special offer this week at Lidl's French stores.. could it be men's long johns at €4.99 each that is pulling in the shoppers (NB: offers change on a weekly basis)?
17.09.04
Earlier on this page, attention was drawn to the fact that Nestlé was considering the sale of its Perrier mineral water operations (click here to see that story). This week, the issue became one of national importance, when the French finance minister Nicolas Sarkozy intervened, to invite Nestlé Waters France CEO Richard Girardot to a meeting to work out "conditions for maintaining and developing" the company's activities in France. Because what From Europe With Love does best is find stories that are not in English and then make them available in that language - and because you can read this story, in English, elsewhere - the best thing to if you want to find out more is to click on the link below (right) to see how the trade journal Beverage World reports these latest developments. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) where you can read the latest on the Perrier saga, in French, as reported by the news agency AFP.
16.09.04
Fnac, France's leading music retailer, is to unveil a new website dedicated to online music sales this Saturday, writes the newspaper Libération. The site, fnacmusic.com, is set to mix it with a growing list of online retailers of music, such as Apple's iTunes, Libération says, offering (principally) French shoppers a selection of 300,000 titles at a unit price of €0.99 per download, or €9.99 for an album. Fnac is promising to double the number of somgs available between now and the end of the year and has an eventual target of 1.2 million - the same number as are stocked in its flagship outlet at Forum des Halles in Paris. Fnac, like other would-be retailers, faces the handicap that Sony and Apple refuse to licence their security software to third parties, maning that downloaded music often cannot be played on devices such as the iPod or HiMD. Rather than be beaten, however, the company has decided to tell consumers - quite openly - how they can by-pass those security systems in order to be able to play any music downloaded from its site on any device they like. Click on the link below (left) to read a fuller version of this story for yourself, in French, in the pages of Libération, or here, as reported by another leading newspaper, Le Figaro. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit Fnacmusic.com or here to visit the company's main site which, in addition to music, covers the whole range of leisure and cultural items.
07.09.04
Back in June, manufacturers of France's leading brands reached agreement with the French finance ministry to drop prices of their leading brands in order to reduce the pressure on the purses/wallets of the country's supermarket shoppers (click here to be taken to an earlier story on this page about that agreement). Now, finance minister Nicolas Sarkozy is stepping up the pressure. According to the French news agency AFP, Sarkozy issued a call on Monday to industrialists to accelerate the pace, given that the planned 2% price cut is far from being achieved. Ten days, Sarkozy says, is the new limit to reach that objective. The deadline emerged after a two-hour meeting between retailers and suppliers, AFP says, with France's competition authorities on alert to police the arrangement. In fact, the ministry's pressure is being applied to two supermarket chains - Leclerc and Intermarché - who insist that they have been trying to put pressure on 'reticent' manufacturers. What is not clear, however, is if Sarkozy is asking the two retailers to revise their prices - which, in some cases, mean that they are selling at a loss and therefore damaging the companies that supply them - or the manufacturers to cut theirs. Sarkozy has become newly involved, AFP says, because "things so far have only gone half-way". He is now asking for manufacturers to implement an average price cut of 2% by September 20th on between 3,500 and 5,000 products, instead of the 2,500 originally mentioned, with the threat of publicly naming those suppliers who fail to comply. Click on the link below (left) to visit the website of AFP, where you can read a fuller version of this story for yourself, in French. Click on the link below (right) to go to explore the site of Leclerc, one of the companies mentioned in this report.
07.09.04
Perrier may be a world-leading brand, but it has never quite recovered from the benzine scare it suffered in 1990. Nevertheless, Nestlé has persevered with its ownership of the company, which it acquired in 1992, maintaining and adding to the product range. Now, however, it seems that the end might be near for Perrier within the Nestlé stable as a dispute at the company's Vergèze production plant threatens to break the owner's patience. A final decision as to whether Nestlé is to sell Perrier, says the French news agency AFP, will be made during September. That the question ever arose is due to a dispute emanating from French trade unions about the scale of job cuts Perrier's owner is proposing for Vergèze. "A final decision about the future of Perrier will be taken and announced before the end of the month of November", Frits van Dijk, president of Nestlé Waters, tells AFP. Van Dijk, AFP says, then refused to answer any further questions. Richard Girardot, head of Nestlé Waters France, has already told AFP that the preferred decision within Nestlé is to sell Perrier, although other solutions "remain possible". Demonstrations continue at the Vergèze site, AFP says, with between 200 and 500 workers manning the gates on Monday. Nevertheless, the company's fate seems almost sealed. Known throughout the world for
its slogan "Perrier, c'est fou" (says AFP and which, with typical 'Frenchness',
isn't actually true. You also can't really translate the phrase, but if you tried it might
result in something like "Perrier, what a character"), Perrier has never been
able to replicate the success it enjoyed until 1989, when 1.2 billion bottles were
produced. The company was subsequently obliged to withdraw 280 million bottles from the
market after some were found to be contaminated with benzine, irreparably damaging its
market presence.
03.09.04
Concerned that rising prices may be deterring French shoppers, the country's leading trade association representing super- and hypermarkets, FCD, has started a campaign under the title 'Prix d'amis' ('friendly prices'), with which it hopes to encourage manufacturers of leading brands to lower the shelf price of their products. That's fine, says the newspaper Libération, as long as those manufacturers agree to play along. Some, the paper says, are not so sure they want to join in with the FCD initiative. "You can already see the effect in store, but there are still some major brands who haven't proposed any price cuts to us", says Jérôme Bédier, head of the FCD. Among the worst 'offenders': suppliers of branded cooked meats who, it is said, have refused to discuss the issue with retailers. Kronenbourg, the beer company, is another manufacturer said to be holding out, although the company itself denies this. "That's not true", a spokesperson tells Libération. "We are in the process of finalising our proposed cuts, which should become effective in the next few days and weeks." The FCD is seeking to secure average cuts of 2% across retail shelves, in cooperation with supplier's and France's Ministry of Finance, with a view to "giving the French their purchasing power back. By mid September, we should have achieved 50% coverage", Bédier tells Libération. The drive follows an agreement reached between all parties in June, to lower the price of at least 2,500 products. Among those brands currently
participating, the FCD says, are Amora, which has cut the price of its mustards by 6.5%,
Ducros, whose spices and condiments are now up to 16% cheaper, and Nestlé, which has
reduced the prices of its dark chocolate brands by 10%. Others have been less generous,
the association notes, with Soupline fabric conditioner dropping its shelf price by just
1%.
03.09.04
The average Frenchman - or woman - bought 40 (forty) packets of medicine last year, says the magazine Le Nouvel Observateur, making for total sales of 2.6 billion boxes with a value of 16.5 billion euros. Spending on medicines which are reimbursable rose by 8.7% during the year. The figures come from the official body that administers France's national healthcare system, Cnam, Le Nouvel Observateur says, with spending rising more because the cost of medicines had risen (+ 4.6%) than because people were consuming more (+ 0.7%). Other reasons given by Cnam for the increases include deomographic factors and an increase in chronic illnesses such as diabetes. They can also be put down, Cnam says, in part to the taste the French gave acquired for painkillers and anti-depressive medicines. Among the ten drugs most frequebtly prescribed during 2003, there are five analgesics (principally paracetamol-based), one sleeping aid and one anti-depression agent, it says. Use of antibiotics, on the other
hand, fell by 10% last year, which appears to prove the effectiveness of an information
campaign designed to prevent their being prescribed unnecessarily. On the other hand and
despite this, recent studies show, resistence to antibiotics continues to rise as a result
of their over-use in treating viral infections.
03.09.04
Almost one in ten young French adults between the ages of 21 and 25 years old is blocked from having a mobile phone account, writes the newspaper Libération. That's 254,000 people, whose names are duly recorded in the Preventel 'blacklist', the paper says. Among 18 to 21 year-olds, the rate plummets to just 2.75%, probably due to the fact that a high proportion of users in that age group are still at school or college and have their account managed by their parents. This is the first time that such a calculation, which Libération requested, has been made. The file was created in 1998 and now contains the names of fully 3% of the French population, Jean-Yves Gougeon, head of the group behind the register, tells the paper. Major operators such as SFR, Bouygues and Orange deny that non-payment is a major matter for concern and either say that they have systems in place to pick up 'erratic behaviour' (SFR) or, on the other hand, say nothing at all (Orange). And indeed, alongside prepaid packages which would avoid the problem, they continue to vigorously market accounts allowing callers to rack up high charges. The proportion of pre-paid accounts, Libération says, has fallen to 40%, from 50% three years ago. According to figures supplied by
Bouyges, the average 10 to 14 year-old will spend 16 euros per month in charges. While
they may not use their handset much for voice calls, it says, they are heavy senders of
SMS messages. Among 20 to 25 year-olds, for whom calling their friends is the principal
reason they have a mobile phone, the average monthly cost roughly doubles.
24.08.04
The familiar, universal and unassailable (well, in France at least) green Perrier bottle has a new rival, writes the French news magazine Le Point. Rival Badoit is striking at the market leader with the launch of Badoit Rouge ('red'), a more sparkling water than the traditional 'green' Badoit, the company says, and one that delivers a 'strong sensation'. The rivalry between Nestlé and Danone picked up again in 2002, Le Point says, when Nestlé, which owns Perrier, decided to launch 'Eau de Perrier', a product billed as being somewhat less sparkling and which encroached on the territory previously dominated by Badoit, owned by Danone. In 2004 and with a true sense of balance, now it is the turn of Badoit to stake a claim for its rival's territory, not that the company chooses to describe it exactly in that way, Le Point says. "It's not a counter-offensive", Danone marketing director Marc Jacheet tells the magazine, "but we did need a new product". Thus two years of market research on 'big bubbles' and the after the development of a new plastic bottle, the product is finally ready to hit the shelves The most difficult element of the process, it seems, was to find the right bubble. "We conducted blind tests of 25 waters taken from all over Europe", says Jacheet, "with hundreds of consumers". Given the fickleness of the target market, perhaps the Danone-owned water brands was right to be meticulous in its research. "We're targeting young people, drinkers of soft drinks", Jacheet tells Le Point. Badoit has thus developed a
small-format bottle suited to automatic dispensers. And red. Why? "In a country
dominated by blue and green bottles, we wanted a water that would be easy to spot",
says Jacheet, "something that would really stand out on the shelves".
24.08.04
French manufacturers, and particularly medium-sized makers of FMCG goods, are coming under pressure from a new supply channel which is devastating their margins, says the French newspaper Libération. One mustard manufacturer, the paper says, describes the situation as 'an absolute horror', while a spokesman for one French dairy group defines it as a 'nightmare'. What are they talking about? 'Reverse auctions' on the internet, which are fundamentally transforming the traditional process of negotiation into a 'duel to the death' between suppliers. Take the example of a hypermarket that wants to buy butter to sell under its own label. The company selects a number of suppliers who are invited to log on on a given date, at a given time, to a website accessible to them by way of a password. The suppliers are unaware of each other's identity, Libération says, as, over a period which typically lasts between 30 minutes and 2 hours, they battle to secure the contract by offering the lowest price among the competition. "You can lose a market in just a few minutes", the head of one SME (small/medium-sized enterprise) tells the paper. "It's like poker". The system puts everything on the side of the buyer, who can even break off during the auction to make a phone call to one of the participants, further increasing the pressure. "Go on, make an effort. We've been working together for a long time now", he might say. The process can even, Libération says, be viewed as sadistic, as suppliers are obliged to cut their prices or face elimination and, therefore, lose the contract. Then there's the recent trend towards extended auctions. Recently, one hypermarket chain kept suppliers on alert for a full 24 hours. The attraction of these reverse auctions for the buyer is clear, Libération says, with discounts on deals typically worth between 11% and 14% compared to a deal negotiated in the usual manner. And, at corporate level, the benefits can be considerable: General Electric, in the United States, has boasted of making savings of up to $1 billion in the year 2000 alone by using reverse auctions. In France, large groups such as Danone, Carrefour and L'Oréal are 'hooked' on them, says Libération, as well as all the big car makers. Eevn the Gvoernment is a fan, having organised reverse auctions in areas such as office supplies. Indeed, the authorities have tended to look on the practice as a way of creating an efficient, cross-border market on the internet. Recently, however, the mood may
have changed, with the European Commission known to be concerned about both the
'brutality' of the practice and its apparent lack of transparency. There is currently a
lack of regulatory framework governing the auctions, and thus preventing buyers, for
example, from including a 'hare' in the auction, i.e. a supplier placed by them to propose
low prices and therefore pull down those offered by other competing suppliers. Everything,
it seems, favours the company holding the auction.
24.08.04
Yves Jégo, a local government for Seine-et-Marne, has filed a proposal for law which, if accepted, would see all plastic bags being phased out in favour of new carriers that are 100% biodegradable, writes the French news magazine Le Point. "Some people believe in the goodwill of consumers", he says. "I prefere to have a law, which would have a more rapid effect on people's behaviour". Under Jégo's proposal, shopkeepers would be fined 100 euros for each plastic bag they distributed after the law comes into effect. The initiative is not without precedent in France, Le Point notes. Since 1996, for example, the E. Leclerc supermarket chain has distributed no disposable plastic bags, handing out only re-usable carriers and a number of its rival s have also picked up on the idea. The only French region to have completely banned plastic bags so far is Corsica which, as most people will know, isn't really in France. There, Le Point says, all retail chains agreed during 2003 to use only biodegradable, starch-based carriers. Other countries to have successfully intrduced new regimes include Ireland, where bags are taxed to the tune of 15 cents per unit. Following introduction of the tax, the number of bags handed over to shoppers fell by 90%, Le Point says. In Taiwan, fines of between 1,940 and 9,700 euros are payable by shopkeepers distributing plastic carrier bags. The principal group to oppose any such regulation in France appears to be, perhaps unsurprisingly, that of the bag makers themselves. And there are others, such as Michel-Edouard Leclerc, head of the chain of the same name, who also have their doubts. "The idea of having bags that are completely biodegradable is unrealistic", he tells the magazine. "It will never solve the problem of waste". Yves Jégo, however, remains unperturbed and determined to reduce the number of plastic carriers in circulation. According to estimates, 15 billion of the items are handed out at checkouts each year in France alone. Click on the link below (left) to visit the Le Point website and read this story for yourself, in French. Click on the link below (right) to visit the Leclerc website... happy shopping!
24.08.04
TF1, France's leading TV channel, has come under attack from the country's leading regulatory authority, CSA (Conseil Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel), writes the advertising magazine CB News, for running 'clandestine advertising'. The CSA, CB News says, has
opened procedures against TF1 after a journalist, during the Marseilles vs. Newcastle Uefa
Cup football match on May 6th, "uttered words which appeared to favour the newspaper,
l'Equipe". On June 6th, the CSA continues, the same journalist made an announcement
which supported a promotional offer being made by the hypermarket chain Carrefour, partner
of the French team which that night was playing an international fixture against the
Ukraine and sponsor of the broadcast of the match. The journalist in question, CB News
says, is believed to be Thierry Roland.
24.08.04
One might have thought that, in terms of corporate identity, Danone had already achieved a consistent international appearance with its introduction, some years ago mnow, of the corporate logo of a child gazing at the stars against a blue background. Not so, or not sufficient, however, if reports in the French press are to be believed. According to the French financial website First Invest, the company is considering changing its familiar logo and breaking with certain stylistic conventions with a new design which - while maintaining the white-on-blue approach currently used - will take its inspiration from that of Dannon, whihc is used to brand the company's products in the USA Daniel Carasso, First Invest says, son of the company's founder, was the first to consider that Danone should develop a local brand in harmony with the tastes and expectations of the American market. That situation remains to this day although other markets, such as Australia, have adapted well to the 'child' logo used globally. In adapting the Dannon logo, the traditional hexagon shape will, says First Invest, have its corners rounded and take on the shape of an elipse. The letters forming the name, it understands, will also become more rounded and consist of five capital letters followed by a small 'e'. The red line, which currently appears under the corporate name and gives the impression of a spoon, will in future become a smile stretching from the left-hand side of the 'A' to the right-hand side of the 'N' (yes, I know, a simple picture of the new logo would be more effective but it is not, as yet, officially available). What remains to be seen, First Invest says, if this will subsequently lead to a single brand being applied globally and the disappearance of the 'Dannon' name. A decision, it is believed, has yet to be taken on that, even if the fact that the company has registered the website address 'danone.us' would appear to serve as an indicator. Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself, in French, on the First Invest website. Click on the link below (right) to visit the Danone corporate website which, naturally, makes no mention of the plans but does give you the opportunity to appreciate Danone's current corporate identity, or here to visit the Dannon website, to appreciate the difference.
There is invariably, says the French news agency AFP, one song which catches the summer mood of the nation, selling hundreds of thousands of copies and propelling its singers to overnight fame before, as the summer fades, generally disappearing never to be seen again. That song, nevertheless, remains as a kind of signature for the year. In 2004, says AFP, there can be little doubt that the 'tube de l'ètè' (or 'video of the summer') belongs to O-Zone, a 3-piece boy band from Molova whose 'Dragostea din tei' ('love under a lime tree') has proved a success in France and beyond. It's currently almost impossible to escape the song on the beach or the radio, AFP says - which is hardly surprising, given that it has sold 1.2 million copies in France alone and has just notched up its 16th week at the top of the country's pop music charts. It's not a difficult formula: catchy rhythm, ultra-simple melody and a chorus that implants itself in your brain, says AFP. Despite that, there is usually only one group that manages to capture the public's imagination and this year, O-Zone, perhaps profiting from the slightly offbeat image that the French have of eastern Europe, are the winners. In addition, AFP says, the group plays on the kind of kitsch image which recently returned to fashion. Typically, the song that marks
the summer has its roots in African or Latin American music, with artistes to match. This
year's 'tube', however, is sung in Romanian and reflects a rather different style.
"It's a flying saucer amid all the R&B and pop-rock", Sabine Fretey,
spokeswoman for Happy Music, which publishes the song, tells AFP.
08.08.04
Where will the enthusiasm of the French end for 'bricolage', or DIY, asks the newspaper Le Monde. For the past 10 years, it says, the market has grown on average by 3% to 4% per year and should, according to figures from reesarch agency Xerfi, reach €18 billion this year. And there's plenty of room for further growth, Le Monde says. Average household spending on home improvement products is currently €634 per year, far behind that of the Germans or British, who spend €943 and €866 respectively. If there is a black spot, it is only during the warmer summer months that spending drops, with sales during July and August being 10% lower than the rest of the year. Even if its impact is difficult to measure, the advent of a working week limited to 35 hours must have had some effect, Le Monde says. Although that legislation is now under pressure, Pascal Malfoy, head of the industry's trade association, believes the trend is set to continue: "New store openings are not taking away from the existing market", he tells the paper. "Our real competition comes from other leisure pursuits and from holidays. When those other markets go into decline, as happened after 11 September 2001, home improvement continues to grow. We are still some distance away from capacity." The growth in the marketplace has led to consolidation within the industry, says Le Monde. While smaller outlets still account for 15% of total sales, ten years ago that figure was 23.5%. Super- and hypermarkets, with a limited product offering, have not really been able to make an impact, leaving 70% of sector volume in the hands of large specialists such as Leroy-Merlin, Castorama, Mr. Bricolage and Bricorama. Such chains are adapating to competitive pressures either by switching to discount formats or playing on the attractions of home decoration for the French. "Consolidation is only just starting", warns Henri-Pierre Vacher, of the consultants Kurt Salmon. "The DIY sector is still 10 to 15 years behind the grocery trade." In order to help maintain growth, DIY chains have to take demographic and social developments into account, says Le Monde. "80% of items are either bought or prescribed by women", says Hervé Courvoisier, managing director of Mr. Bricolage, number three in the sector. Aside from this, Courvoisier points out that the ageing of society and the increase in single-parent families have also had an effect on demand. "DIY is less and less a market for experts", says Pascal Malfoy. "You increasingly have to reassure clients, educate them about the products." Each year, Le Monde says,
Castorama welcomes between 150,000 and 200,000 consumers to training courses. Some stores
have even forged partnerships with local craftsmen, to assist older buyers through their
personal projects. "It is a market which is growing strongly", says a
spokesperson for Leroy-Merlin, "accounting for as much as 15% or 20% of turnover at
some stores."
France's health minister, Philippe Douste-Blazy, has promised to require alcoholic drinks makers to put messages on each bottle warning of the dangers to pregnant women.of consuming the product it contains, writes the news agency Reuters. "We have decided that there should be labelling on the bottle which explains that it is dangerous to drink alcohol if you are a pregnant women", Douste-Blazy said at a recent conference. The requirement, Reuters notes, already exists in the United States. Consumption of alcohol is believed to carry with it risks for the unborn foetus, Douste-Blazy maintains. A previous version of the text proposing the law change had previously been ruled out, in part due to vigorous lobbying on the part of the powerful alcoholic drinks industry. Although a date for the introduction of health warnings on bottles has yet to be set, what is certain is that a new promotional campaign reminding pregnant women of the dangers of alcohol consumption will break this autumn. Around 1,000 children are said to be affected by foetal alcoholism syndrome (SAF) yearly. Douste-Blazy's project, Reuters notes, is sure to worry
France's alcoholic drinks industry, already facing a slide in sales of wine, both in
France and abroad. Already this year, the industry challenged - and failed to overturn -
the Loi Evin, which severely restricts their ability to promote their products in the
media.
31.07.04
Nestlé is considering the sale of its legendary water brand Perrier, writes the French news agency AFP, considered (at least by the French) "the champagne of water brands". The company's decision is due to its growing frustration at the attitude of France's CGT union to proposed job cuts at the Vergèze production plant. Nestlé had proposed a reduction of 1,047 jobs at Vergèze, from a current total of 4,100, AFP says, but that plan was ditched on Friday in the face of CGT intransigence. Though not yet final, the decision could become so in September. Perrier has been owned by Nestlé since it was acquired in 1992, following a long battle with the Italian Agnelli family. Rival groups or investment funds may well be potential buyers, AFP says. Known the world over, Perrier has never been able to recapture the level of sales it enjoyed before a contamination scare, in 1990. Whereas then 1.2 billion bottles were produced, by 2003 production had fallen to 830 million. Nestlé owns 77 water brands,
says AFP, including Perrier, Contrex, Vittel and San Pellegrino. It is the world's no. 1
player in the sector, with a turnover of SFr. 8.1bn. It is bigger in France than Danone,
owner of the Evian, Volvic and Badoit brands, among others.
29.07.04
There will soon be no food and drink vending machines in schools and colleges in France. And 'premixes', or 'alcopops' - mixes of soft drinks with alcohol, are to be hit with new taxes designed to dissuade young drinkers, writes the French newspaper Libération. A mixed party commission of French deputies and senators, meeting this week, reached definitive agreement, Libération says, on how to continue the 'battle against obesity'. After months of intense lobbying which had led to the Senate, earlier in July, voting through an amendment allowing vending machines containing 'light' products, now it seems there will be nothing on their shelves. In addition, advertising for their products on radio and television must be accompanied by an agreed health message. Should they choose not to air the message, they will have to pay a tax of 5%. The proceeds of this tax, Libération says, will not now, as had before been floated, be channeled into a 'health education fund' controlled by the manufacturers themselves, but will now go entirely to the national healthcare education and prevention authority, Inpes. "In places as symbolically important as schools, the presence of automatic vending machines is questionable, even when they are dispensing 'light' products", Martin Hirsch, president of the French agency for food safety, tells Libération. Hirsch welcomes the forthcoming tighter restrictions, considering they will favour the health of the nation's youth, as does the country's health minister, Philippe Douste-Blazy. Click on the link below (left) to read a fuller version of this story as it appears on the Libération website, in French. Click on the link below (right) to visit the official website of the French healthcare protection and education ministry.
22.07.04
France's national olympic and sporting body, CNOSF, has succeeded in preventing the supermarket chain, Leclerc, from using the term 'Olymprix' ('Olympic prices') in its promotional campaigns, writes the local ad industry newsletter CB News. Leclerc centres had been using the term, CB News says, in a number of campaigns, either on its own or accompanied by the phrase 'Transporteur official des Olymprix' on its trolleys. An Orleans appeal court judged that this represented 'parasite' marketing, damaging the value of the Olympic brand. Click on the link below (left) to read a fuller version of this story as it appears on the CB News website, in French. Click on the link below (right) to visit the Leclerc website, where you will probably find no mention of the word 'Olymprix', or, if you do, you can report it.
15.07.04
The advent of video on demand (VOD) in France and increased use of devices such as Tivo, could lead to a fall in TV advertising of between 3% and 5% by the year 2007, equivalent to revenues of 108 million for broadcasters, says an article in the French newspaper Le Figaro. The newspaper bases its article on research conducted by NPA Conseil into the implications of personalised viewing technology for the broadcasting and advertising industries. NPA bases its findings, Le Figaro says, on observation in the United States, where VOD is currently available in approximately 12 million households. In a survey, 70% of owners of 'personal' recorders spoken to said that their 'live' TV viewing time had fallen to under 5 hours per week. 22% even said they had stopped watching live TV completely and responses indicated that viewers 'zap' approximately two-thirds of the ad breaks. The price an advertising spot is sold at, Le Figaro says, bears a direct correlation with the level of audience a channel or programme enjoys. Fewer viewers, therefore, equates to less advertising or cheaper airtime. In France, 'personalised' viewing is still very much in its infancy with only 100,000 households - principally subscribers of satellite services - currently owning a recorder equipped with a hard disc. But the sector looks set to grow, says Le Figaro, with Canal Satellite, TPS, Canal+ and Noos all rolling out systems. NPA Conseil concludes that between now and 2007, VOD will 'cannibalise' at least 1% of the total viewing audience, leading to an income shortfall for TV stations of 54 million euros. 6% of French households, it says, will own a decoder equipped with a hard disc. "The way one navigates through the programming when using these decoders makes them a natural way of avoiding advertising", NPA Conseil warns. Some sets sold in the USA, for example, even allow viewers to 'fast-forward' in 30-second spurts, or even to block out ads completely during a recording. Given that advertising provides between 30% and 55% of TV channel income, these are worrying developments for them. Click on the link below (left) to read a fuller version of this story as it appears on the Le Figaro website, in French. Click on the link below (right) to visit the Canal Satellite website, where you can read up all about their Pilotime personalised viewing recorder.
14.07.04
The French government's banning of TV advertising for alcohol products is acceptable under European law, according to a ruling this week in the European Court of Justice, writes the online advertising magazine Adformatie. Judges ruled that the French authorities could justify the restriction as being in th epublic interest, Adformatie says. The case came about after drinks maker Bacardi challenged the law. The European Commission had previously ruled that France was in contravention of the spirit of the European Union, as regards the free movement of goods. France introduced its restrictions at the beginning of the 1990s under a law known as the Loi Evin. In addition to direct advertising, the law rules out the broadcasting of events at which advertising for alcoholic drinks is visible. Click on the link below (left) to read this story interview as it appeared on website of Adformatie, in Dutch. Click on the link below (right) to read some interesting questions relating to Bacardi Breezer, including why it is not available on France (and why they wouldn't therefore advertise it anyway).
13.07.04
The volume of advertising spending on French TV in the first 6 months of 2004 amounted to €2.6 billion, writes the ad industry newsletter CB News. The figure represents a 6.5% increase over that recorded for the same period the previous year, according to data from the industry association, SNPTV. The biggest increases were noted among those companies advertising food products (+10.2%), health & beauty products (+8%) and transport (+7.7%), CB News says. Between them, those three groups accounted for 53% of all expenditure on television advertising during the period. Click on the link below (left) to read this story as it appears on the CB News website, in French. Click on the link below (right) to visit the SNPTV website or here to go straight to a page on the site offering you the opportunity to view a selection of recent ads shown on French TV and shot by cinema directors.
Are Carrefour's woes symbolic of those facing the French hypermarket sector as a whole, asks the newspaper Le Figaro? Yes, believes one financial analyst who follow the sector. Last week, Carrefour CEO Daniel Bernard announced that his company, the world's 2nd-largest retailer, was revising its forecasts downwards. Turnover in the group's hypermarkets, he said, was down 3.5% in the second quarter, after having fallen by 4% in the first three months of the financial year. A number of factors explain this poor performance, Le Figaro says. One of them is sociological: consumers simply have less and less time to push their trollies around the lengthy aisles of the nation's grocers than they did even a few years ago. Add to this legislative factors such as the Loi Galland ('Galland Law'), which prevents hypermarkets from selling at below cost price - something that historically brought them significant turnover on certain lines. Then there are the economic reasons: as a result of the current climate, French household consumption is at a historic low. Despite the general pessimism, however, some analysts believe Carrefour is on the way to putting the situation right. Prices, for example, are being lowered across the company's stores to stimulate sales. Carrefour's loyalty card, launched in mid-April, already has more than 5 million users and has handed out 12 million euros-worth of bonuses. "It's a useful tool which has enabled us to increase the average basket value of cardholders by between 30% and 40%", Denis Stoclet, a strategic marketing consultant, tells Le Figaro. Cards alone, however, are unlikely to be enough to rectify all the problems faced by the French hypermarket sector. That's why all the major groups are currently working away in back rooms to develop their strategies for the store of the future. To enable clients to save time, Le Figaro says, checkout procedures are likely to be automated and store layout altered so that customers can choose between taking a quick tour or making a fuller visit. In certain sectors where there is currently a proliferation of choice, the number of brands is likely to be drastically reduced. "Clients get lost when faced with a shelf holding 450 different yogurts, alcoholic drinks or bottles of water", says Denis Stoclet. "You have to restore a little order by delisting those products which are less in demand." Click on the link below (left) to read a fuller version of this story as it appears on the Le Figaro website, in French. Click on the link below (right) to visit the Carrefour website and find out about the 'Carte Carrefour' loyalty card. Who knows, you might even want one.
Elsewhere on this page, you can gain access to a recent editorial from the French advertising magazine, CB News, in which Christian Blachas looks at the situation facing independent agencies, against a background of consolidation and globalisation (click here to be taken to that link). Here, Jacques Bouey, head of BBDO France, give his views from the other end of the spectrum to the national newspaper, Le Figaro. According to Bouey, communications groups must, more than ever, now look to reconstitute their offer. As he sets about reorganising his company, he gives Le Figaro his analysis of the major changes taking place in the communications sector, in the wake of three years of recession which, he believes, have contributed to bringing about significant, lasting change in what the leading players have to offer. Click on the link below (left) to read the interview in French, as it appeared on Le Figaro's website. Click on the link below (right) to read an English-language translation of the interview, prepared by From Europe With Love.
19.05.04
A study from the French statistical agency, INSEE, shows that spending by French households on alcoholic drinks has dropped significantly over the past forty years. In 1960, alcohol accounted for 12% of the household budget, whereas the figure today is no more than 8%. The French still like their alcohol, says the magazine Marianne, which bases an article around the figures, but these days, they're choosier. Since the beginning of the 1990s, the number of litres of mineral water consumed has overtaken that of wine, Marianne says. This has caused great satisfaction, among others, at associations formed to campaign against alcoholism. But one shouldn't be "intoxicated" by the figures: while sales of table wine have fallen by 2.5%, those of fine wines have risen by 3.5%, Marianne says. So while people may be drinking a little less, they're also drinking better. Similarly, consumption of spirits and other drinks high in alcohol has fallen strongly, yet sales of champagne have risen by 15% since the 1960s. Beer is currently the preferred drink of young people, INSEE finds, with 50% of 12 to 17 year-olds consuming it at lesat once per week. Their parents, on the other hand, prefer wine, with 85% admitting to drinking it with the same frequency. These trends are in line with those observed internationally, Marianne says. Since 1999, worldwide sales of alcoholic drinks have fallen by 2 litres per person, per year. In 1985, the French were the world's leading drinkers. Now they are no higher than 4th, behind Luxembourg, Ireland and Portugal (Luxembourg earns its place as a result of the fact that, though a small country, it has a very low level of taxation, which attracts cross-border shoppers and distorts the statistics. To read this story for yourself, in French, in the pages of Marianne, click on the link below (left). Click on the link below (right) to visit the website of the French official statistical agency, INSEE.
15.05.04
One hears a lot these days about media integration, fragmentation and sophistication. Whatever the method and the means, however, the fact remains that you have to tailor your message to suit your audience. And if you can do that with grace, then all the better. Now one inhabitant of Lyon, in central France, has come up with a novel way of spreading the advertising word on a local basis, says the newspaper Libération. Every weekend since May 1st, Gérald Rigaud has been taking up his place in the Croix-Rousse town square, from 11am on both Saturday and Sunday when the market is in full swing, to read out messages handed to him by people who live in the district who have small advertisements that they want to communicate on a local basis. Rigaud tailors his delivery to the content of the message - crying out or murmuring, according to mood. Reviving the ancient art of the "town crier" but confining himself to advertisements that would otherwise appear only in shop windows or in the classified section of a local newspaper, he has placed ten letter boxes in the streets around the square into which the inhabitants can drop their advertisements. Rigaud picks up any messages left just before the weekend, but will also accept submissions as late as Saturday or Sunday morning. Then, at 11am, he is ready to "broadcast". Ringing a bell and unfolding, one by one, the requests that have been left in his boxes, he starts to read them out. "Seeking a third person to rent a large apartment looking over the cathedral, rent 300 euros." "Could the people on the 3rd floor stop walking about in clogs?" "Laura, I love you." "Chrysler Voyager Turbo for sale, 4,500 euros"... the variety reflects the many corners of urban life. Rigaud's plans to develop his 'business' include taking it on the road, moving from village to village on a motorised tricycle. For the moment, however, his act - part public service, part street theatre - is set to continue to animate the squares of Lyon on weekend mornings. To read more about this story, in French, click on the link below (left) to see it on the website of the newspaper Libération. Click on the link below (right) to see an old photo of a traditional French "town crier" (or "crieur public", as they are known in France).
15.05.04
Approximately one quarter (24%) of Frenchmen (and women) observed the boycott promoted by the consumer organisation, UFC-Que Choisir, last Sunday to protest against the price of SMS messaging, reports the news agency, AP. Almost half (44%) of those going "on strike" were aged between 18 and 24 years old, according to a survey conducted after the event by the polling agency, CSA. UFC-Que Choisir is accusing service providers of artificially boosting the number of texts sent on the day of the boycott by sending out large numbers of messages on their own account. 81% of the French, it says, think the price of SMS messaging is excessive, and operators earn a profit margin of 80% on every message sent. The average cost of SMS messaging in France is 13 cents per message. Total revenues generated by the activity amounted to 1.1bn euros in 2003, from 11 billion messages carried over the networks of Orange, SFR and Bouyges Telecom. To read more about this story, in French, click on the link below (left) to see it on the website of Edicom, the news agency. Click on the link below (right) to visit the SMS section of Orange's French website, where you can read about all the different services on offer.
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