Paul-Auguste Halley
Paul-Auguste Halley (Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, Manche, August 14, 1907 – Caen, November 1, 2002) was a French entrepreneur and the founder of the Continent hypermarkets.
Biography
Paul-Auguste Halley began his career in the 1950s as a small grocer in the Manche department. He pioneered the import of the supermarket concept to France, embodying a generation of retail "revolutionaries" who democratized shopping through low-price policies and the development of hypermarkets. In 1961, he founded the Promodès distribution group in Caen with his sons, Paul-Louis Halley and Robert Halley, consolidating several family-run wholesale businesses based in Normandy: the Halley and Duval-Lemonnier firms.[1]
In 1962, the first Promodès supermarket opened in Mantes-la-Ville. The group later launched Champion supermarkets (1969), Continent hypermarkets, Shopi convenience stores (1972), and 8 à Huit shops (1977). In 1996, Promodès acquired the Félix Potin convenience chain.[2]
In 1999, Promodès merged with Carrefour to form Europe’s largest retail group.
Paul-Auguste Halley is buried in Montebourg.
References
- ↑ Paul-Louis Halley: From Promodès to Carrefour, Claude Sordet (Author), Jean-François Wantz (Author), Robert Halley (Afterword), Olivier Halley (Afterword), Jacques Dermagne (Preface), Éditions d'Organisation, (ISBN 978-2708132276)
- ↑ Le Parisien (November 3, 2002) "Death of the Founder of the Continent Hypermarkets"