Chains Making Unit Share Gains In France, Reports CHD

While independent full-service and quick-service restaurants, cafes and bars still greatly outnumber chain-operated restaurants in France, chains are posting strong gains while the number of independents is falling, according to the global research group CHD’s Foodservice Annual Count and Expenditure Tracking study of the French foodservice market from 2009 to 2013. Quick-service concepts also are adding units, while the number of full-service units is declining.

For the five-year period, quick-service operators added nearly 10,000 units, growing from 24,950 in 2009 to 34,587 in 2013 for total growth of 38.6% and a compound annual growth rate of 8.5%. Both chain and independent QSRs posted strong unit gains, but chain concepts grew faster, posting a CAGR of 10.7% during the period.

The number of full-service restaurants, on the other hand, fell from 83,500 to 79,864 during 2009 to 2013, and cafes, bars and taverns saw unit counts drop to 30,798 from 34,500. Chain full-service units grew during the period while the number of independent units fell sharply.

Information on CHD research products, which cover more than 30 foodservice and lodging markets around the globe, can be found at chd-expert.com.