PARIS - French retail giant Carrefour SA says its sales fell slightly in the second quarter amid a slowdown in its core markets in Europe.
Carrefour, the world's second-largest retailer by revenue after Wal-Mart Stores Inc., said in a statement Thursday that its quarterly sales were €21.7 billion ($26.6 billion) in the quarter, down 0.3 per cent from the €22.4 billion in sales the same quarter a year earlier.
For the first half, the company registered sales of €43.7 billion, up 0.9 per cent from 2011.
Growth in China and Latin America helped offset shrinking sales in France and countries particularly hit by Europe's debt crisis such as Spain and Italy.
Carrefour has struggled for years to turn around its core hypermarket business. It is working on a turnaround plan and named a new CEO this year.
