Carrefour Israel Appoints Inbal Harson as CEO to Revive Sales Amid Financial Recovery
Inbal Harson began her tenure as CEO of Carrefour Israel yesterday, facing the critical challenge of restoring sales growth after a year of decline. Carrefour operates 150 stores nationwide and has seen five CEOs in six years. Harson replaces Michael Luboshitz, who became co-chairman of Global Retail, Carrefour's parent company. Harson joins Carrefour after five years as CEO of sales at Central Bottling Company (Coca-Cola Israel) and is highly regarded in the industry. However, her transition from supplier management to retail is complex, especially given Carrefour's recent history of losses, store closures, and deep cost-cutting measures.
Under Luboshitz, Carrefour stabilized the French brand in Israel, converted all stores from Yainot Bitan and Mega, expanded private label products, and hired 600 foreign workers. These efforts turned the company profitable, with a net profit of 16 million shekels in 2025, following losses of 47 million shekels in 2024 and about 170 million shekels in 2023 when Carrefour was launched. Despite profitability improvements, sales remain a major concern. In 2025, sales dropped 1.5% to 3.28 billion shekels, with a 9.3% decline in same-store sales in Q4. The first quarter of 2026 showed a modest 2.4% growth, helped by Passover and increased food consumption amid tensions with Iran, but the outlook for Q2 remains uncertain.
Global Retail plans an initial public offering on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange by year-end, aiming to raise 350 million shekels at a valuation near 900 million shekels. The capital will reduce debt from about 400 million shekels, lowering annual financing costs of 55 million shekels and improving profitability. This would relieve Harson of the heavy debt burden, allowing her to focus on boosting sales and growth engines like online sales, and partnerships with delivery services Wolt and Quick.
Carrefour's sales challenge is intensified by consumers cutting back on spending after inflation waves since early 2022. Price increases that helped retailers maintain margins are now stalled, pressuring sales further. To combat this, Carrefour won a government-backed tender to sell 100 staple products at about 30% below discount chain prices, supported by a 25 million shekel public-funded advertising campaign. This initiative is expected to add 300 million shekels annually to sales, though early results suggest the sharp price cuts in 50 stores may have hurt overall revenue.
One of Harson's first decisions will be whether to extend this discounted basket campaign for six more months at the same advertising cost or end it after the Jewish High Holidays. Extending it risks further sales erosion, while stopping it could drive customers away due to price hikes.
Harson is the fifth CEO in six years, following a series of short-lived leaderships including Michael Luboshitz, Amit Zeav, Uri Kilshtein, and others. The company has undergone multiple ownership and branding changes, including a 2021 sale to Electra Consumer Products and a costly rebranding to Carrefour. Harson's success will depend on navigating these challenges and reversing the sales decline in a highly competitive and price-sensitive market.
