Before the launch of the Carrefour chain's first-of-its-kind branch in the world, the chain's CEO and senior executives made a historic round of visits to the homes of Israel's greats.
During the visits, the network's senior officials were kindly received by the Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch, the rabbi Benjamin Finkel, the rabbi Efrati, the Rishon LeZion, Rabbi David Yosef, and the former Chief Rabbi, Rabbi David Lau.
The rabbis welcomed the significant news for the observant public, that giant chains recognize their unique needs and provide them with service and fair prices.
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As part of the preparations, the network's senior officials also visited the Mir Yeshiva halls, one of the largest yeshivahs in the world, to deepen their familiarity with the lifestyle and unique needs of the Haredi sector.
This precedent-setting step reflects the recognition by a huge international chain of the significant consumer power of the ultra-Orthodox sector in Israel.
French retail chain Carrefour is entering the Haredi market in Israel with the opening of the first Mehadrin branches of their kind in the world in Elad and Beit Shemesh. The new branches offer luxurious kosher food products, including hundreds of Mehadrin products under the Carrefour brand, in addition to a new and unique line of about 60 private label products certified by the Haredi Badatz. In addition, the chain is working to transfer hundreds more popular private label products to luxurious franchises such as the Haredi Badatz and Kehilot.
""We are pleased to bring significant consumer news to the Haredi sector," explains Michael Luboszitz, Deputy CEO of Carrefour Israel. "The prices will be the same as the equivalent products in the chain's other branches, which will allow the Haredi consumer to enjoy competitive prices and international-level service.".
The consumer message is reflected in a huge butcher's department of meat and poultry with expert butchers, a fresh bakery in each branch with fresh pastries every day, a fresh fish department, and a fruit and vegetable department with carefully selected fresh goods.
The move marks the beginning of a new Mehadrin sub-chain under the Carrefour brand, with plans for significant expansion in areas with a large Haredi population, and additional branches are expected to open in Jerusalem, Petah Tikva, Kiryat Ata and Haifa.
""We are also looking for a suitable location in Bnei Brak," adds Luboszitz. "We already understand from the initial reactions that this expansion has tremendous demand from the ultra-Orthodox consumer audience.".
The move represents a significant development for Carrefour Global, which until its entry into Israel had almost no experience in the field of kashrut. "Entering the production of products with Badatz kosher or any other fancy kosher certification is not easy," explains Luboszitz. "It requires working with large manufacturers and persuading them to qualify the production lines. We succeeded in this task thanks to the large volume of our orders.".
Since its entry into the Israeli market, Carrefour has expressed great interest in the field of kashrut, both due to its importance in the local market and with the idea of copying the model to its branches in Jewish concentrations around the world, and representatives of the global chain have even expressed this interest several times in their conversations.
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