Carrefour Replaces "Basket of Israel" With New Year-Round Discount Initiative

Carrefour Israel is ending its "Basket of Israel" discount initiative, launched by Minister of Economy Nir Barkat, after six months. The decision, made by CEO Inbal Harason, was not to extend the option for another six months, which would have required an additional 25 million shekel campaign funded by public money. Harason announced that immediately following the minister's initiative, Carrefour will launch a nationwide, year-round program called "Carrefour Special Deal" across all its branches.

The new "Carrefour Special Deal" aims to retain customers who might reconsider shopping at Carrefour after the "Basket of Israel" ends. Unlike the previous program, the new initiative will feature a rotating list of discounted products twice a month, offering 10-20 leading items at approximately 30% off their catalog price. This change is a lesson learned from the "Basket of Israel," which lost customer interest after a few weeks due to its static product list. Additionally, toiletries and pharmacy items, excluded from the previous basket, will now be included.

The "Carrefour Special Deal" will be available in all Carrefour branches nationwide, unlike the "Basket of Israel," which was limited to 50 out of 144 stores. The selection of discounted products will vary between neighborhood markets and hypermarkets, with discount stores offering double the number of items compared to neighborhood stores. Prices in neighborhood stores may be slightly higher, by 1-4 shekels per item, than in discount branches. A small number of deeply discounted products will rotate twice monthly and be sold at a uniform price across all branches and sub-chains.

Examples of initial deals include Elite Turkish coffee for 12.9 shekels, Casa Verde extra virgin olive oil for 15.9 shekels, and Ma'adanot Mamma Mia pizza for 10 shekels. These prices require a minimum purchase of 99 shekels, and customers can buy up to six units of each promotional item, an increase from the previous limit of two units.

Carrefour is also re-evaluating its catalog prices and will implement further reductions based on competitor pricing. Approximately 100 products from the "Basket of Israel" will be reviewed, with prices being lowered rather than returning to pre-initiative levels, except where suppliers have raised costs. Carrefour hopes these promotions and product rotation will maintain customer interest, while the minimum purchase requirement will help balance the deep discounts. The move also aims to repair the brand's image, which was affected by the "Basket of Israel's" limited reach and its association with public funding for marketing.