In 1959, Marcel Fournier dreamed of a new kind of retail store. Fast forward to 2025, and you are looking at Carrefour, a global retailer with more than 14,000 stores in more than 40 countries, nearing $ 100 billion in annual revenues. The company had its share of setbacks globally – for instance in Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore – but it’s been wildly successful in other regions, including the Middle East. 

In 1995, Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim introduced Carrefour to the Middle East and North Africa regions. The French giant expanded rapidly and built vast hypermarkets that became fixtures of city life from Amman to Muscat – 5 stores in Kuwait, 7 stores in Bahrain, 15 stores in Oman, 34 stores in Jordan, and a mind-blowing 175 stores in the United Arab Emirates (175). The brand’s total 320 outlets in 15 countries in the region stood for modernity, scale, and global sophistication, and was appreciated by consumers throughout the region. 

But in recent months, Carrefour has been quietly packing its bags, withdrawing from market after market, and leaving its once-prized spaces to a newcomer that feels more local, more rooted, and, crucially, more politically acceptable. The story of Carrefour’s Middle Eastern retreat is less about weak sales or poor logistics than about the dangers of global branding in an era when geopolitics and consumer sentiment can turn overnight.

The unraveling began in 2022, when Carrefour signed an exclusive franchise agreement with Israel’s Yenot Bitan which brought close to 100 stores to the country. Business as usual for Carrefour, but a slap in the face for much of the Arab world. Protesters of the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) movement accused the company of complicity, and in a country with a politically sensitive population, the brand became untenable. Ultimately, Majid Al Futtaim’s hand was forced and in late 2024, it announced that all Jordanian Carrefour stores would be rebranded under a new name: Hypermax. On paper, Hypermax looks like just another supermarket chain. But in practice, it represents a sharp break. Whereas Carrefour carried the baggage of a French identity and its link to operations in Israel, Hypermax was marketed explicitly as an Arab brand, promising more local sourcing and a stronger cultural connection to its customers. The boycott campaigns claimed victory over Carrefour’s perceived support of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as soon as the company disappeared from the streets of Amman.

Oman followed swiftly in January 2025. Carrefour ceased its operations there as well, with Hypermax taking their place almost immediately. Then followed Bahrain in September, and then Kuwait. Within less than a year, Carrefour had disappeared from four markets where, not long ago, it was considered a retail powerhouse. The speed of the withdrawals left many observers stunned. This was not a slow erosion of market share or the gradual winding down of a struggling business. It was a coordinated exit, carried out under pressure and wrapped in the language of “localization.” The abruptness suggested that the political headwinds had become too strong to manage, and that Majid Al Futtaim, Carrefour’s partner, saw no future in defending the French brand.

What went wrong? Carrefour’s predicament is a classic example of what happens when international businesses underestimate the risks of brand perception. The company may not have directly controlled its stores in Israel, but for many consumers across the Arab world, that distinction was irrelevant. Perception is reality. The moment Carrefour’s name became associated with a political position, however indirectly, the chain was vulnerable to organized boycotts. In markets where nationalism and solidarity are powerful forces, foreignness became a liability.

Another layer of failure lies in Carrefour’s reliance on its franchise partner. Majid Al Futtaim was the decision-maker in the region, and its calculation was simple: why continue investing in a brand tainted by boycotts when it could roll out its own Arab-branded chain instead? By leaning so heavily on a partner, Carrefour ceded control over its strategic positioning. When the backlash came, Carrefour’s fate was decided in Dubai, not in Paris.

The broader lesson is sobering. International business is not just about operational efficiency or the ability to scale. It is also about sensitivity to local identity and political context. Carrefour’s long-standing belief in the power of its global brand turned into overconfidence. The assumption that size and legacy would shield it from reputational risks was a miscalculation. In the end, a name that once connoted prestige and global reach became a liability so great that its own franchisee felt compelled to bury it.

Carrefour’s Middle Eastern retreat illustrates a deadly sin of international expansion: arrogance. Believing a brand can rise above politics is tempting, but in today’s world, where consumers wield boycotts as weapons and cultural identity is fiercely defended, no multinational can afford such illusions. For Carrefour, the exit from Jordan, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait is a reminder that in international business, confidence without humility is often the first step toward failure.

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