# Kickoff of the Business Deep Dive with Carrefour **Authors:** Albert's Deep Dive **Categories:** Business Deep Dives **Tags:** Carrefour, assortiment, cannibalisation, Chief Data Officer, Arnaud Grojean **Last Updated:** 2025-11-05T15:51:07.497Z **Reading Time:** 1 min read --- ## Summary Three weeks of collaboration begin: four teams interviewed Arnaud Grojean, Carrefour’s CDO, and must optimize a category (canned goods, beer, pet food) while limiting cannibalization. --- Three weeks of collaboration with Carrefour are underway. The kickoff comes from four student teams who had the honor of interviewing Arnaud Grojean, Carrefour’s Chief Data Officer. The case we were given asks us to design a product assortment: each group must optimize a Carrefour category—either canned goods, beer, or pet food. But watch out for cannibalization: when a new product is introduced, it can steal sales from another. It’s up to us to make the right choices! ## Key Takeaways 1. Four student teams launched a three-week collaboration with **Carrefour**, kicking off with insights from **Chief Data Officer Arnaud Grojean**. 2. The brief is to design an optimized **product assortment** for one category: **canned goods**, **beer**, or **pet food**. 3. Teams must minimize **cannibalization** and focus on **incremental** category growth when adding or removing SKUs. 4. A **data-driven** approach to SKU roles, price tiers, and space is essential for effective category optimization. 5. Make clear, **evidence-based trade-offs** to align assortment choices with shopper needs and profitability. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is the goal of the Carrefour Business Deep Dive on product assortment? The project asks student teams to design an optimized product assortment for a Carrefour category. The aim is to boost sales and margin while meeting shopper needs and managing cannibalization risk. ### How do you optimize a Carrefour product assortment for canned goods, beer, or pet food? Start by setting clear objectives (sales, margin, penetration), then analyze POS and loyalty data to assess SKU performance, substitutability, and shopper segments. Account for store clusters, seasonality, price tiers, and space to balance breadth vs. depth and maximize incrementality. ### What is cannibalization in retail assortment planning, and how do you measure it? Cannibalization is when a new SKU steals sales from existing items instead of growing the category. Measure it using cross-elasticity modeling, market-basket analysis, test-and-control pilots, and incrementality metrics that compare net category lift against a baseline. ### Which KPIs should you track to evaluate a Carrefour category optimization? Track sales, gross margin, units per transaction, category penetration, inventory turns, and on-shelf availability. For assortment choices, monitor SKU productivity (sales/space), contribution margin, substitution rate, and price index. ### How does a Chief Data Officer influence data-driven assortment planning at Carrefour? A CDO enables access to clean POS/loyalty data, advanced analytics, and experimentation frameworks. They align teams on data definitions, privacy, and testing standards so assortment pilots are faster and more reliable. ### What category-specific strategies work for beer vs. canned goods vs. pet food? Beer needs attention to regulation, pack sizes, premiumization, and seasonal peaks. Canned goods focus on price tiers, private label vs. national brands, pantry-stocking behavior, and space elasticity; pet food emphasizes brand loyalty, health claims, wet/dry mix, and size variety. ### How can teams test assortment changes at Carrefour without risking sales? Run A/B tests across matched store clusters or phased rollouts with predefined guardrails and success metrics. Simulate planograms, validate supply constraints, and gather shopper feedback before scaling. --- *Article from [Albert's Deep Dive](https://deepdive.albertschool.com) - Albert School's Journal*