France’s favourite brands: Decathlon, Peugeot and E. Leclerc top poll

Sports giant Decathlon has been ranked the favourite French brand among the public in France for the third year running with car manufacturer Peugeot second and supermarket group E. Leclerc third.

The 2022 yearly barometer of the public’s favourite French brands, by Eight Advisory and pollster Ifop*, was published at the weekend in the Journal du Dimanche (JDD).

Criteria include whether the brand improves people’s daily life, how much it innovates, and whether people would like to work for the company. The impact on the French economy, the environmental responsibility of the brand and whether it gives a good impression of France are also considered.

Participants were asked about a total of 77 brands to arrive at the top 50.

The ranking sometimes appears as a ‘sign of the times’: last year, the online appointment booking platform Doctolib rose sharply as a result of its use during the pandemic for Covid vaccinations. This year, the brand dropped a place to 12th position.

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Vehicles and transport

French car manufacturers have done especially well this year. Peugeot jumped two places to second place, compared to last year; Renault is still in fifth place, and Citroën rose from 12th to 9th place. This is largely due to vehicle brands’ innovation and impact on the general population, the pollsters said.

In the JDD, Eight Advisory associate Stéphane Nénez said: “Automobile brands have also benefited from their efforts in the development of electric cars.”

Car-sharing service Blablacar rose an impressive 16 places from 42nd last year to 26th this year, just ahead of flagship carrier Air France.

Train company SNCF came in 17th place while ADP (Aéroports de Paris) trailed in 45th place. Petrol supplier TotalEnergies, which has been offering a range of discounts on fuel as prices soar, came in 33rd place.

Supermarkets

Some supermarkets have suffered against a backdrop of inflation and rising prices.

E. Leclerc remains the public’s favourite brand in this sector by far (3rd place) but other names such as Système U and Auchan have dropped in the rankings to 40th and 32nd place respectively.

In contrast, Grand Frais jumped 11 places to 24th this year.

Other supermarket brands to appear include Intermarché (13th), Carrefour (18th), and Auchan (31st).

Luxury brands less popular

Despite their popularity internationally, French luxury brands have become less popular on home turf. Chanel has dropped eight places to 30th, just ahead of Dior. Hermès was in 50th place, while Louis Vuitton dropped by 14 places, to 47th.

This is because of the brands’ perceived lack of ability to change people’s everyday lives, the poll found.

Banks

Perhaps surprisingly given the current inflation rates and purchasing power crisis, a number of banks and similar brands appeared in the ranking, although not highly. This included Crédit agricole (41st), Caisse d’épargne (46th) and Crédit mutuel (49th).

Tech and mobile

A range of well-known electronic shops and mobile companies also featured. These included Fnac (11th), Orange (16th), Darty (23rd), Groupe Bouygues (34th), and Free (39th).

Age and gender a factor

The rankings change slightly depending on the age groups or gender of those asked.

• For women, the first three places go to Decathlon, beauty brand Yves Rocher, and E. Leclerc

• For men, it was Peugeot in first place, then Decathlon, with aircraft manufacturer Airbus in third

• People over 35 years of age put electricity supplier EDF in third place, behind Decathlon and Peugeot

The full ranking:

*The survey was conducted among a sample of 3,011 people representative of the French population over the age of 18, by online questionnaire from September 21-28, 2022.

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