Carrefour Sees 2009 China Sales Growth Above 15%

French retailer Carrefour expects its China sales this year to grow more than 15 percent, similar to recent years, and plans to open 28 stores in China, up from 22 last year, a senior executive said on Friday.

The upbeat comments from Patrick Ganaye, vice president of Carrefour China, contrast with warnings from economists that consumer spending in China could wilt as broader economic weakness shakes confidence.

China's economy in the fourth quarter is expected to have grown 7 percent from a year earlier, its weakest expansion in nine years, a poll of economists showed ahead of GDP data next week.

But Ganaye told Reuters on the sidelines of a company event that the retailer's business in China had not been affected by the economic slowdown.

Although government data show China's overall retail sales growth held up better than expected in the final months of last year, some sectors, especially passenger cars, have been hit hard as slowing economic growth makes consumers wary.

Retail sales slowed only modestly in November to 20.8 percent from a year earlier from October's 22 percent.

The government has been hoping to encourage Chinese consumers to spend more, to pick up the slack from falling exports in a slumping global economy.

Carrefour's Ganaye attributed his company's favourable outlook in part to its focus on urban areas and its aggressive price promotions.

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"When you start to be in crisis, people look at price. You should have the best price," he said.

He added that many factories in China laying off workers were in rural areas, but Carrefour's outlets were in the cities.

The company plans to open many of its new stores this year in smaller Chinese cities, he added.

Copyright 2009 Reuters. Click for restrictions.