What is the visibility of mass retail executives in the media?

In a context of inflation, the bosses of major retail brands are getting wet with numerous statements in the media. Who are the most publicized? Cision Insight takes stock.

Questions of purchasing power and inflation have been omnipresent in the media for several months, bringing major retail brands and, above all, their bosses to the forefront. But, which ones are the most publicized and on which media are they? What is the content of their speech? To answer these questions, the Cision Insight teams analyzed their interventions in the national daily press (PQN), within the audiovisual media and on the social network Twitter to take stock of the visibility of the different leaders through their speeches or simple quotes, from September 2022 to May 2023.

Michel-Edouard Leclerc or the Ace of press coverage?

The emblematic president of E. leclerc, Michel-Edouard Leclerc, obtained 3,229 press reports, all media combined. This is 2.5 times more than those of Alexandre Bompard, the CEO of Carrefour (1,277) and almost 3.7 times more than those of Jean-Charles Naouri, the CEO of the Casino group. . This media exposure of Michel-Edouard Leclerc results in an ODV (Opportunities to See) of nearly 1.5 billion times, a figure 4 times higher than for Alexandre Bompard.
In addition, one in two press coverage concerns Michel-Edouard Leclerc, while the other managers share the remaining 60%, including 20% for Alexandre Bompard (Carrefour) and 14% for Jean-Charles Naouri (Casino Group).
Note that, even if Thierry Cotillard (Intermarché) is cited in less press coverage than Jean-Charles Naouri (9% in volume vs. 14%), he mobilizes supports with a stronger impact since he affects 9% of advertising opportunities. see versus 8% for Jean-Claude Naouri.

Television and radio are the first showcases…

The audiovisual media offer great platforms to the leaders of these brands. Only Dominique Schelcher, CEO of Système U and Yves Claude, CEO of Auchan Retail, escape the rule by being relayed, in the top 5 of fallouts, only by AFP, by the economic press and by the regional press. But it is also interesting to see the impact of the media when we compare the impact figures in volume and viewing opportunities (ODV). Thus for Yves Claude (Auchan), 2 articles in Le Figaro generate more than 3,000,000 ODV.

Concerning the sources of visibility by leaders and the content of their interventions, Michel-Edouard Leclerc is a big fan of continuous news channels for the general public with 61% of ODV and interviews on everything that affects the daily lives of the French. Invited almost every week, his remarks are therefore regularly relayed in other media. Moreover, the media 20 minutes brings in nearly 180,000 ODV even though it does not appear in the TOP 5 of the media which open its columns to it.

He is asked to talk about various subjects such as E. Leclerc’s strategy (fuel prices, elimination of paper catalogues, etc.), but also on all the news relating to purchasing power, inflation and related subjects: war in Ukraine, shortage, negotiations with manufacturers, Egalim law… Beyond his area of expertise, he also gives his opinion on the daily news of the French: pension reform, jobs , Nutri-Score, politics, etc.

For each manager… his space of visibility

Alexandre Bompard is the second most publicized manager, mainly with business and economic support on subjects concerning Carrefour.

In the top 5 media in terms of volume of press coverage, there are BFM Business and AFP economic news. His speeches mainly concern the news of the mass distribution brand: the presentation of the strategic plan, the 2022 results… But also on the measures put in place by the group such as energy conservation and endometriosis leave.

Read also: What place does inflation take on social networks?

Jean Claude Naouri is cited only as CEO of Casino, mainly in business, financial and economic media with nearly 900 press reports. He is rarely the subject of interviews. The number of spin-offs ranks it 3rd in volume but 4th in ODV (opportunities to view). They mainly concern the financial difficulties of the Casino group and the negotiations with other players to successfully get the company out of this situation.

Thierry Cotillard turns more towards the general public and business audiovisual media with speeches on his core business: President of the Mousquetaire/Intermarché group, his discussions with the Casino Group and the actions of his company: strategy, energy sobriety, law Egalim, inflation. The CEO of Intermarché and Netto appears in 600 press reports, which places him in 4th position in terms of volume and in 3rd position in terms of ODV thanks to his presence in audiovisual media and high-volume press titles. audience like Le Figaro.

Dominique Schelcher appears more in the national and economic press and his interventions are mainly on inflation, purchasing power and energy costs. With more than 500 mentions over the period, he ranks in 5th position. It owes its visibility mainly to the national economic press and to one regional title in particular: L’Union. He is generally asked about current events related to inflation, food shortages and measures taken by the government for purchasing power.

Finally, Yves Claude is more present in the regional media and the professional press with news focused on Auchan. Arriving at the head of Auchan in 2021, Yves Claude is still little visible in the media and only garners around forty press coverage over the period. He mainly interests the professional press and the regional press, which mainly relay the economic news of his company: the good results, but also the deliveries of Auchan products in Russia.

Leaders are also connected on social networks

These leaders are also good users of social networks, like Michel-Edouard Leclerc who is a very active tweeter by sharing his interventions and his opinions on his sector, so that his posts are relayed by journalists. These also include the posts he writes on his blog. This may explain why he is the leader of mass distribution most contacted by the media and is constantly active.

Alexandre Bompard is also very active on X (formerly Twitter), he communicates about his functions as CEO of Carrefour and about his personal passions such as sport or music. On the other hand, his posts are not picked up by the press.

Read also: Territories account for 31.2% of the French advertising market

Dominique Schelcher, rather active on social networks, communicates on his group and gives his point of view on numerous economic and social subjects. Moreover, some media refer to it in their articles.

X is not part of the means of communication used by Thierry Cotillard and Yves Claude.