Géant was opened its first hypermarket in 1970. In Dec 2015, Géant Casino had about 142 hypermarkets all over the world. The concept is, like most hypermarkets, to have all kinds of items available under one roof. A loyalty card system has been introduced by Géant, with a price discount on certain groceries. There are over two million Géant card-holders. Géant Casino is the fifth largest hypermarket chain in the world and the fourth largest in France after Carrefour, E.Leclerc and Auchan.
Fu-Com joined with Groupe Casino to bring the Géant hypermarket brand to the Middle East where Géant opened its first store in Bahrain in May 2001. A store was opened in Dubai in 2005 and one in Abu Dhabi in 2015 at Yas Mall. Géant expanded its operations to Kuwait by opening a store in 2005 in Kuwait City. Acquisition by Majid Al Futtaim Group In 2017, Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim Group bought 26 Geant hypermarkets in the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait by acquiring the Geant franchise owner Retail Arabia from BMA International for an undisclosed amount. The acquired stores were rebranded as Carrefour and Carrefour Market depending on their store format or size.
In Qatar, Groupe Casino joined with localsupermarket chain Al Meera to open a hypermarket in Hyatt Plaza, and to sell Casino products in Al Meera stores.
Countries where Géant is currently not operating
Lebanon: Géant had one hypermarket in Lebanon which was bought in late 2008 by Sultan Trading Center and replaced by The Sultan Center.
Poland: Géant had nineteen hypermarkets in Poland, which were sold in late 2007 and early 2008 to the German companyMetro AG and replaced with Real.
China: Géant had several hypermarket locations in Taiwan in a joint venture with a Taiwanese company. After Géant pulled out of the country, the existing hypermarkets were renamed a.mart.
Saudi Arabia: Géant operated several hypermarkets in the kingdom until 2009 when it was sold to the rival Hyper Panda by the local franchisee partner of Géant France.
Kuwait, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates: Géant easy Supermarkets and Hypermarkets currently does not operate in Kuwait, Bahrain and UAE. Géant, through a local franchisee partner operated 26 Géant stores across Kuwait, Bahrain and UAE. The chain was acquired by Majid Al Futtaim Group operated Carrefour in 2017 and all the 26 acquired stores in these countries were rebranded as Carrefour for its hypermarket branches and Carrefour Market for its supermarket branches.
