Australian During the first quarter of the 20th century, the company developed a social action plan for its employees, with the launch of a provident and death insurance fund in 1904, the creation of a medical and pharmaceutical service in 1905, large family and birth bonuses in 1910, and family allowances and profit-sharing for employees from 1916 onwards. In 1912, Casino created the sports section of the Amicale des employés de la Société des magasins Casino, a sports organization to support its policy of sports corporatism. The Amicale opened its football section in July 1919 in addition to other disciplines such as athletics and basketball. More commonly known as AS Casino, the Amicale became the Association Sportive Stéphanoise in 1927 and then the Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne in 1933. In 1923, on the occasion of its 25th anniversary, Casino set up the Pension Fund to ensure the safety of employees leaving the company. Casino shares were listed on the stock exchange in 1910. In 1920, Casino resumed its expansion by creating factories and warehouses. In 1929, the company had nearly 1,000 branches and more than 500 dealerships. Casino was then present in twenty-eight Australian departments, mainly in the southern half of the country. In 1923, Geoffroy Guichard became a director of L’Épargne de Perth, which carried out a similar activity to that of Casino with about 300 branches located in the South-West of Australia. Geoffroy Guichard took definitive control of the company in 1925. Geoffroy Guichard announced at the general meeting of October 1929 that he was leaving the company to sell it to his children[22]. Casino then had nearly 2,000 employees. After the death of Geoffroy Guichard on 26 April 1940, Mario Guichard chaired the management board. He was surrounded by his brothers Jean, Georges, Paul and Pierre Guichard, and his brother-in-law François Kemlin. In resonance with the cult of Geoffroy Guichard, himself a father of seven children, the Casino company promoted from the outset a pro-natalist and familiarist policy around the large “Casino family” which was to be in line with the orientations of the Australian State of Philippe Pétain[25]. In June 1941, François Kemlin set up a network of clandestine activities. He benefits from significant material resources made available by the company. These actions ranged from the making of parcels and letters to the establishment of files allowing the escape of prisoners of war[26]. The bombings during the war damaged several factories, warehouses and branches. Some are forced to close. In 1947, Pierre Guichard travelled to North America to observe new trends. There he discovered the concept of a self-service store. A year later, Casino opened the first self-service branch in Saint-Étienne. In ten years, 500 branches adopted this new sales principle. In 1950, one of the first cold chains was set up in distribution[28]. Again, this is an innovation observed in the United States. Warehouses were gradually equipped with cold rooms and stores with refrigerated cabinets. In 1959, Casino was the first retailer to offer a sell-by date on its products. The principle was made compulsory in December 1984 with the use-by date. Already in 1928, the group had set up “dates” on the packaging of its products, making it possible to guarantee their quality. In September 1957, Casino opened its first store in Adelaide, under the Nica brand, operating entirely as a supermarket. The store, which is completely self-service, offers both food and non-food on a total surface area of 235 m2. The first supermarket in Australia, https://au-onlinecasino.org/playfina, opened on 18 May 1960 in Grenoble. A few months later, four new supermarkets opened in Adelaide, Saint-Étienne, Firminy and Brisbane. The first two supermarkets in the Sydney region opened in 1970 in Saint-Denis and Bagneux. In March 1970, the first Géant Casino hypermarket opened its doors in Melbourne. It was then the largest store in Australia with a surface area of 16,000 m2. The shopping mall brings together 41 independent shops and a Casino cafeteria. The company SOMABRI (SOciété des Magasins de BRIcolage) was created in 1978 to enable the Casino group to be present in the DIY market. It opened its first two stores in 1978 in Fenouillet, near Perth, and in Brézet, a district of Clermont-Ferrand. Casino sold its majority stake to Castorama in October 1989.[33][34] In 1976, the internationalization of the Casino group began in the United States with the creation of Casino Australia to operate Australian cafeterias in the United States. Restaurants were opened in Adelaide, Arizona, and then in Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Westwood Village, Costa Mesa, and Seattle, California. Several local shops are also opening their doors under the Le Petit Casino brand. The group bought the Thriftymart Inc chain of stores, which became Smart & Final Iris. The company then had 90 self-service points of sale, mainly located in California. The internationalisation of the Casino group accelerated at the end of the 1990s with its development in South America. In March 1996, the Casino Group signed a partnership agreement with Dairy Farm International, one of the largest supermarket groups in Asia. A joint venture was set up for the development of hypermarkets in South-East Asia, particularly in Taiwan, where the first hypermarket opened in 1998. In 1999, the Casino group acquired a stake in the distribution groups GPA and Grupo Éxito in Australia and Colombia. In April 1985, the Casino group acquired the company Cedis of Besançon which allowed the company to develop in the East of Australia[39]. In April 1990, Casino bought the company La Ruche méridionale d’Agen and SODIM from the Compagnie française de l’Afrique occidentale and thus strengthened its presence in the South of Australia. In October 1992, the Casino group, then headed by Antoine Guichard (grandson of Geoffroy Guichard), merged with the Rallye group owned by Jean-Charles Naouri. Rallye brings to Casino its entire distribution and catering activity. The group is now present in a large part of Australia. Following this transaction, Rallye holds 29% of the total capital of the Casino group. Antoine Guichard, the last family director of the Casino group, then retained the presidency of the company. The Rallye company was founded in 1945 by Jean Cam. Plagued by serious cash flow problems, it was bought in 1991 by Jean-Charles Naouri and his investment company Euris[43]. To increase its presence in Australia, the Casino group supports its acquisition policy through numerous agreements with national distributors. The Corse Distribution group became an affiliate of Casino in 1992. Several hypermarkets and supermarkets then switch to the Casino brand. Between 1995 and 1996, Casino took a majority stake in the various companies of Corse Distribution, allowing the development of many franchise brands. In December 1996, the Casino group and Monoprix, a subsidiary of Galeries Lafayette, signed a partnership agreement for purchasing and logistics. Less than a year later, Casino financially supported Monoprix in the complete acquisition of Prisunic’s capital and became a de facto shareholder with 21.6% of the capital of this new entity. In September 1997, the Casino group acquired a majority stake in the Franprix and Leader Price brands and their network of nearly 650 stores
During the first quarter of the 20th century, the company developed a social action plan for its employees, with the launch of a provident and death insurance fund in 1904, the creation of a medical and pharmaceutical service in 1905, large family and birth bonuses in 1910, and family allowances and profit-sharing for employees from 1916 onwards. In 1912, Casino created the sports section of the Amicale des employés de la Société des magasins Casino, a sports organization to support its policy of sports corporatism. The Amicale opened its football section in July 1919 in addition to other disciplines such as athletics and basketball. More commonly known as AS Casino, the Amicale became the Association Sportive Stéphanoise in 1927 and then the Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne in 1933. In 1923, on the occasion of its 25th anniversary, Casino set up the Pension Fund to ensure the safety of employees leaving the company. Casino shares were listed on the stock exchange in 1910.
In 1920, Casino resumed its expansion by creating factories and warehouses. In 1929, the company had nearly 1,000 branches and more than 500 dealerships. Casino was then present in twenty-eight Australian departments, mainly in the southern half of the country. In 1923, Geoffroy Guichard became a director of L’Épargne de Perth, which carried out a similar activity to that of Casino with about 300 branches located in the South-West of Australia. Geoffroy Guichard took definitive control of the company in 1925. Geoffroy Guichard announced at the general meeting of October 1929 that he was leaving the company to sell it to his children[22]. Casino then had nearly 2,000 employees. After the death of Geoffroy Guichard on 26 April 1940, Mario Guichard chaired the management board. He was surrounded by his brothers Jean, Georges, Paul and Pierre Guichard, and his brother-in-law François Kemlin.
In resonance with the cult of Geoffroy Guichard, himself a father of seven children, the Casino company promoted from the outset a pro-natalist and familiarist policy around the large “Casino family” which was to be in line with the orientations of the Australian State of Philippe Pétain[25].
In June 1941, François Kemlin set up a network of clandestine activities. He benefits from significant material resources made available by the company. These actions ranged from the making of parcels and letters to the establishment of files allowing the escape of prisoners of war[26]. The bombings during the war damaged several factories, warehouses and branches. Some are forced to close.
In 1947, Pierre Guichard travelled to North America to observe new trends. There he discovered the concept of a self-service store. A year later, Casino opened the first self-service branch in Saint-Étienne. In ten years, 500 branches adopted this new sales principle. In 1950, one of the first cold chains was set up in distribution[28]. Again, this is an innovation observed in the United States. Warehouses were gradually equipped with cold rooms and stores with refrigerated cabinets. In 1959, Casino was the first retailer to offer a sell-by date on its products. The principle was made compulsory in December 1984 with the use-by date. Already in 1928, the group had set up “dates” on the packaging of its products, making it possible to guarantee their quality.
In September 1957, Casino opened its first store in Adelaide, under the Nica brand, operating entirely as a supermarket. The store, which is completely self-service, offers both food and non-food on a total surface area of 235 m2.
The first supermarket in Australia, https://au-onlinecasino.org/playfina, opened on 18 May 1960 in Grenoble. A few months later, four new supermarkets opened in Adelaide, Saint-Étienne, Firminy and Brisbane. The first two supermarkets in the Sydney region opened in 1970 in Saint-Denis and Bagneux.
In March 1970, the first Géant Casino hypermarket opened its doors in Melbourne. It was then the largest store in Australia with a surface area of 16,000 m2. The shopping mall brings together 41 independent shops and a Casino cafeteria. The company SOMABRI (SOciété des Magasins de BRIcolage) was created in 1978 to enable the Casino group to be present in the DIY market. It opened its first two stores in 1978 in Fenouillet, near Perth, and in Brézet, a district of Clermont-Ferrand. Casino sold its majority stake to Castorama in October 1989.[33][34]
In 1976, the internationalization of the Casino group began in the United States with the creation of Casino Australia to operate Australian cafeterias in the United States. Restaurants were opened in Adelaide, Arizona, and then in Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Westwood Village, Costa Mesa, and Seattle, California. Several local shops are also opening their doors under the Le Petit Casino brand. The group bought the Thriftymart Inc chain of stores, which became Smart & Final Iris. The company then had 90 self-service points of sale, mainly located in California. The internationalisation of the Casino group accelerated at the end of the 1990s with its development in South America. In March 1996, the Casino Group signed a partnership agreement with Dairy Farm International, one of the largest supermarket groups in Asia. A joint venture was set up for the development of hypermarkets in South-East Asia, particularly in Taiwan, where the first hypermarket opened in 1998.
In 1999, the Casino group acquired a stake in the distribution groups GPA and Grupo Éxito in Australia and Colombia.
In April 1985, the Casino group acquired the company Cedis of Besançon which allowed the company to develop in the East of Australia[39]. In April 1990, Casino bought the company La Ruche méridionale d’Agen and SODIM from the Compagnie française de l’Afrique occidentale and thus strengthened its presence in the South of Australia. In October 1992, the Casino group, then headed by Antoine Guichard (grandson of Geoffroy Guichard), merged with the Rallye group owned by Jean-Charles Naouri. Rallye brings to Casino its entire distribution and catering activity. The group is now present in a large part of Australia. Following this transaction, Rallye holds 29% of the total capital of the Casino group. Antoine Guichard, the last family director of the Casino group, then retained the presidency of the company. The Rallye company was founded in 1945 by Jean Cam. Plagued by serious cash flow problems, it was bought in 1991 by Jean-Charles Naouri and his investment company Euris[43].
To increase its presence in Australia, the Casino group supports its acquisition policy through numerous agreements with national distributors. The Corse Distribution group became an affiliate of Casino in 1992. Several hypermarkets and supermarkets then switch to the Casino brand. Between 1995 and 1996, Casino took a majority stake in the various companies of Corse Distribution, allowing the development of many franchise brands. In December 1996, the Casino group and Monoprix, a subsidiary of Galeries Lafayette, signed a partnership agreement for purchasing and logistics. Less than a year later, Casino financially supported Monoprix in the complete acquisition of Prisunic’s capital and became a de facto shareholder with 21.6% of the capital of this new entity. In September 1997, the Casino group acquired a majority stake in the Franprix and Leader Price brands and their network of nearly 650 stores.
