Monoprix: 365 stores run under franchise or business lease arrangements

Independent retailers are playing a growing role at Monoprix. As at 30 September 2026, 365 of its 620 stores are run under franchise or business lease arrangements, accounting for almost six in ten outlets. These figures, published by Plesio on 10 November and reported by L’Express Franchise on 12 November, highlight a tangible shift for the franchise sector: independently operated stores now make up the majority of the chain’s network.

Most stores are now run by independent operators

A year earlier, franchised stores and those run under business lease arrangements accounted for half of the Monoprix network. Their share has now reached almost 59% of the 620 stores recorded at 30 September. At that date, the chain still operated 255 stores directly, compared with 312 a year earlier.

This breakdown is the main takeaway from the figures released by Plesio, the new name of the Casino group, which owns Monoprix. It describes how stores are operated, rather than a change of brand: a store handed over to an independent operator retains the Monoprix name.

However, the total needs to be read carefully. The 365 stores cover two arrangements: franchising and business leasing, known in France as location-gérance. The figure therefore does not mean that 365 stores operate exclusively under a conventional franchise agreement. Nor does it reveal the number of entrepreneurs involved: a count of outlets is not a count of operators.

Thirteen openings and sixteen transfers in nine months

Over the first nine months of 2026, Monoprix opened 13 franchised stores. Alongside this, 16 previously company-operated stores were handed over to independent retailers under franchise or business lease arrangements.

These two developments should be distinguished. The openings are new franchised stores. The transfers involve existing stores whose operating arrangements have changed. Adding the two together and reporting 29 openings would therefore misrepresent activity across the network.

The same caution is needed when interpreting the fall in company-operated stores from 312 to 255 over one year. The 16 reported transfers cover only January to September 2026: they cannot, on their own, explain the full annual change in the directly operated estate.

For prospective operators, these figures highlight two routes to explore with the chain: opening a new store and taking over the operation of an existing one. They do not, however, constitute a list of currently available opportunities or indicate which territories are on offer.

Franchising and business leasing: a distinction worth examining

When a company-operated store is handed over to an independent retailer, it is the operator that changes. The retailer runs the outlet under the Monoprix brand. Under a location-gérance arrangement, the operator leases the business as a going concern rather than buying it, and pays a fee to its owner.

This distinction deserves particular attention when assessing a project. Stores with the same name above the door do not necessarily offer access to the business on the same terms. The total published by the chain should therefore serve as a starting point for discussion, not a substitute for examining the proposed arrangement.

Monoprix offers franchises under two brands, Monoprix and monop’. Prospective entrepreneurs should clarify the brand involved, the store format and the proposed operating arrangement. The overall growth in independent operation does not, by itself, reveal the entry requirements for each opportunity.

Changes to both store operations and the customer offering

Meanwhile, Monoprix is continuing to roll out its La Cantine food service area. Launched in April 2025 at the Beaugrenelle store in Paris, the concept is now available in 22 Monoprix stores, with two added in the third quarter. Its offering includes barista-made coffee, sandwiches, hot dishes prepared on site and pastries.

This rollout concerns the in-store offering; it does not establish that the 22 stores involved are franchised. Another published indicator shows that footfall at Monoprix stores rose by 0.6% in the third quarter, but the figure does not establish any link with changes in operating arrangements.

Key takeaway for prospective operators: distinguish between new openings and transfers, then ask whether the proposed opportunity involves a franchise or a business lease arrangement. This clarification, rather than the share of independently operated stores alone, will provide the basis for a practical assessment.