As fears of a recession grip stock markets and consumers get squeezed, outperforming fund manager Sean Peche is betting on an unexpected retail player: the French multinational Carrefour . Peche, a portfolio manager at Ranmore Fund Management, highlighted the company's defensive nature and ability to grow earnings amid inflation as a key attractive quality. Peche noted that Carrefour has significantly increased its revenue over the past few years while maintaining stable inventory levels. The retailer's total revenue increased from 74.2 billion euros ($80.96 billion) in 2018 to 84.9 billion euros in 2023, according to FactSet data, a rise of 14.4%. The fund manager also highlighted Carrefour's growth in own-label products, which now account for nearly 40% of revenues.

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Persons: Sean Peche, Peche, You've, CNBC's, There's, Cedric Lecasble, Stifel, Lecasble, Mahamkali Organizations: Carrefour, Peche, Ranmore Fund Management, Ranmore Global Equity Fund, Tesco, FactSet, UBS Locations: French, U.S, Germany, Switzerland, Carrefour, France, Brazil, Europe