Carrefour Lyon Hypermarket LED Retrofit | XHLWX Lighting

Project Background: Addressing Carrefour's Challenges

The Carrefour hypermarket in Vénissieux, a bustling suburb of Lyon, stands as a major retail destination spanning over 18,000 square metres. Prior to its 2026 lighting transformation, the facility was illuminated by an ageing and inefficient mix of T8 fluorescent tubes and 400W metal halide high bays. This legacy system presented a multitude of challenges for the store's management and its parent company, Carrefour Group, a leader in retail sustainability.

Key pain points identified were:

Exorbitant Energy Costs: The outdated lighting was a significant drain on the store's operational budget. With thousands of fixtures running for over 12 hours a day, energy consumption was unsustainable and environmentally irresponsible, directly contradicting Carrefour's corporate social responsibility (CSR) objectives to reduce their carbon footprint.
Poor Lighting Quality and Inconsistency: The existing illumination was characterized by noticeable flicker, inconsistent colour temperatures across different sections, and poor colour rendering. This created a visually unappealing environment, making product displays look dull and flat. Fresh produce, textiles, and cosmetics, in particular, suffered from inaccurate colour representation, negatively impacting customer perception and purchasing decisions.
High and Frequent Maintenance: The short lifespan of fluorescent and metal halide lamps necessitated a constant cycle of replacement. This not only incurred significant costs for new lamps and labour but also required frequent use of access equipment, causing disruption in store aisles and posing potential safety hazards during operational hours.
Lack of Flexibility and Control: The lighting system was a simple 'on/off' setup, offering no ability to adapt to the dynamic needs of a modern hypermarket. There was no way to create lighting zones, implement dimming schedules for non-peak hours, or highlight promotional areas dynamically. This static approach represented a missed opportunity to leverage lighting as a tool to guide customer flow and enhance the shopping journey.

Faced with these issues, Carrefour management sought a comprehensive lighting retrofit partner who could deliver not just energy savings, but a complete transformation of the in-store experience. XHLWX Lighting was selected based on our proven track record in large-scale retail projects and our ability to provide a technologically advanced, customized, and cost-effective solution.

The XHLWX Lighting Solution: A Zoned & Smart Approach

Our lighting design team collaborated closely with Carrefour's facility managers to develop a multi-layered, intelligent lighting scheme. The goal was to move beyond uniform, blanket illumination and create a tailored environment that catered to the specific function of each zone within the hypermarket. This was achieved using a carefully selected portfolio of our specialized retail luminaires, all integrated into a single, smart control network.

Main Aisles and General Circulation: For the vast central aisles, we deployed 2,500 units of our XHLWX-Linearis 8 continuous linear trunking system. This high-efficacy solution (165 lm/W) replaced the inefficient high bays, immediately providing bright, uniform, and glare-free illumination. Its tool-free, plug-and-play design was crucial for rapid installation during non-operational hours. The system delivered a consistent 750 lux at floor level, creating a welcoming and easily navigable space for shoppers.

Fresh Produce, Butchery, and Seafood: This is where light quality truly drives sales. We installed our XHLWX-Accent CRI95+ series of track spotlights. These fixtures boast a Colour Rendering Index (CRI) of over 95, ensuring colours are rendered with near-perfect fidelity.

Fruit & Vegetables: A 3000K CCT with a tailored spectrum was used to accentuate the fresh greens, vibrant reds, and rich yellows of the produce.
Butchery Counter: A specific 2700K module with enhanced red rendering (R9 > 85) was used to make cuts of meat look fresh and appetizing.
Seafood & Fish: A crisp, cool 5000K CCT was chosen to highlight the freshness and silvery sheen of the fish on ice.

Health, Beauty, and Fashion Sections: In these high-margin areas, accurate colour perception is paramount. We again used the XHLWX-Accent CRI95+ track system, but with a neutral 4000K CCT. This ensures that the subtle shades of cosmetics and the true colours of textiles are accurately displayed, reducing product returns and increasing customer confidence in their purchases.

Checkouts and Back-of-House Areas: Employee comfort and operational efficiency were the priorities here. We installed our XHLWX-ComfortPanel UGR19 LED panels. These panels are designed to minimize glare (Unified Glare Rating < 19), reducing eye strain for cashiers and staff working long shifts under direct lighting. In storage and staff areas, integrated motion sensors ensured light was only used when needed, maximizing energy savings.

Technical Highlights: Beyond Illumination

This project was defined by three core technological pillars that elevated it from a simple retrofit to a smart retail solution.

1. Intelligent Control with DALI-Casambi Gateway We implemented a powerful hybrid control system. The backbone of the installation uses the robust, industry-standard DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) protocol for wired control of the main aisle trunking. This wired system was then bridged to a wireless Casambi Bluetooth Mesh network via our DALI-Casambi gateways. This 'best-of-both-worlds' approach provided the reliability of a wired system with the unparalleled flexibility of wireless control for spotlights and accent lighting. Store managers can now use a simple tablet app to:

Create and recall lighting scenes for promotions, seasonal events, or cleaning.
Implement schedules for automated dimming (e.g., to 30% during overnight restocking and 80% during off-peak hours).
Group lights into custom zones and adjust levels on the fly without any rewiring.

2. Superior Color Fidelity (CRI95+) for Enhanced Product Appeal While standard LED lighting offers a CRI of around 80, our solution for all customer-facing product areas specified a minimum CRI of 95. This metric measures how accurately a light source reveals the true colours of an object compared to natural daylight. For a retailer like Carrefour, this is not a luxury but a necessity. The high-CRI lighting transformed the appearance of everything from fresh bread in the bakery to electronics. Products appeared more vibrant, appealing, and trustworthy, directly influencing shopper behaviour and contributing to an increase in basket size.

3. High Efficacy & Advanced Glare Control (UGR<19) Every fixture was selected for market-leading efficacy, with our linear systems achieving over 165 lm/W. This technical efficiency is the foundation of the project's massive 75% energy reduction. However, brightness without comfort is a flaw. We ensured all primary luminaires, especially in staff-centric areas and long aisles, adhered to a strict UGR<19 rating. This guarantees a high level of visual comfort, eliminating the subtle eye strain and discomfort that can shorten a customer's dwell time and reduce staff productivity.

Installation & Commissioning: A Seamless Transition

The entire 18,000 m² retrofit was completed in just six weeks with zero disruption to the store's daily operations. Our project management team orchestrated a phased rollout, with all installation work conducted overnight. The pre-wired, modular nature of the XHLWX-Linearis 8 trunking system allowed for sections of up to 50 metres to be installed and energized in a single shift.

Commissioning the DALI-Casambi network was the final step. Our technicians programmed the entire store layout into the Casambi app, creating intuitive zones (e.g., 'Aisle 5', 'Bakery', 'Promotional End-Cap 3'). We pre-set scenes for 'Day Trade', 'Evening', 'Restocking', and 'Cleaning'. Comprehensive training was then provided to the Carrefour facility management team, empowering them with full control over their new smart lighting environment.

Measured Results: Exceeding Expectations

The post-installation audit revealed results that surpassed all initial projections.

Energy Savings: The store's annual electricity consumption for lighting plummeted from 480,000 kWh to just 120,000 kWh, a verified saving of 75%. Based on an average electricity rate of €0.25/kWh, this translates to an annual financial saving of €90,000 and a reduction of approximately 195 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
Illuminance Levels: Average illuminance in the main aisles was increased from a variable 400-550 lux to a consistent, uniform 750 lux. Targeted accent lighting on fresh produce achieved focused levels of 1200-1500 lux, making the displays pop.
Qualitative Feedback: The Store Director reported a 'transformational' change in the store's atmosphere, noting a tangible increase in customer dwell time in the fresh food and beauty sections. Staff satisfaction also improved, with cashiers specifically praising the reduction in headaches and eye strain from the new glare-free checkout lighting.

As Jean-Pierre Dubois, Store Director, stated, "The difference is night and day. XHLWX Lighting did not just sell us lights; they delivered a new shopping experience. Our products look better, our customers are staying longer, and our energy bills have been slashed. The payback on this investment is not just financial, it's in customer and employee satisfaction."

FAQ

Q1: Why was a DALI-Casambi hybrid system chosen over a single-protocol system? A: The hybrid system offers the perfect balance of robustness and flexibility for a large-scale retrofit. DALI provides a stable, wired infrastructure for the thousands of metres of main aisle lighting, ensuring absolute reliability. Layering Casambi's wireless mesh control on top allows for effortless grouping, zoning, and scene-setting for accent lights, which often require frequent changes for promotions. It avoids the need for complex control wiring to every single spotlight, saving significant installation time and cost while providing a user-friendly app interface for the store staff.

Q2: How does high CRI95+ lighting specifically impact sales in a hypermarket? A: High CRI lighting renders colours almost identically to how they appear in natural daylight. In a retail context, this has a powerful psychological effect. Fresh foods look genuinely fresh, textiles show their true hue, and packaging graphics are vibrant as the designer intended. This builds consumer trust, reduces hesitation, and makes products fundamentally more desirable. For items where colour is a key purchasing factor, like cosmetics or clothing, high CRI directly reduces the likelihood of product returns.

Q3: What was the projected payback period for this LED retrofit? A: The project's payback period was calculated at just under 2.8 years. This was based on the total project investment (including all hardware, installation, and commissioning) offset by the substantial annual operational savings. The calculation includes €90,000 in direct annual energy savings, plus an estimated €8,000 per year in reduced maintenance costs (labour and materials for lamp replacement). This rapid return on investment makes the project highly attractive from a financial perspective, even before considering the unquantified benefits of increased sales and improved customer experience.