Which family controls the French retail group Auchan?

The Mulliez family controls the French retail group Auchan. Gérard Mulliez opened the first Auchan store in Roubaix, France, in 1961, using the name of the nearby Hauts-Champs district.

Auchan grew into an international retailer operating hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenience formats. The family’s business interests extend beyond Auchan through a network of companies and investments often associated with the Mulliez family group.

Mulliez-related brands have included Decathlon, Leroy Merlin, Kiabi and Boulanger, although ownership structures differ by company and can change over time. The family is known for using employee and family shareholding arrangements rather than a single conventional public holding company.

Auchan is sometimes confused with Carrefour because both are major French retailers. Carrefour is a separate publicly traded group, while Auchan is historically associated with the privately controlled Mulliez family.