It followed in the footsteps of Tesco and Kingfisher, for instance, as it offloaded an 80% stake in its China business to local player Suning.com.

Carrefour has operated in China since 1995, but almost a quarter of a century on it was only making EBITDA of €66m on sales of €3.6bn.

So why do so many international retailers fail to make it in China? It is typically seen as a go-to market where a rapidly growing middle class would be eager to splash out with world-renowned retailers.