Recognised quality, contested prices: the paradox of French competitiveness

A survey conducted among nearly 500 European buyers by Kantar Institute for Rexecode and SKEMA Business School reveals a mixed image of French exports. While quality, innovation, and design remain widely recognised, prices perceived as high continue to weigh on France’s competitiveness in international markets.

At a time when global value chains are being reshaped and competition among major exporting powers is intensifying, the perception of French products abroad remains broadly positive, yet fragile. This is one of the main findings of a study conducted by Rexecode in partnership with SKEMA Business School, analysing the competitiveness of French consumer goods from the perspective of European importers.

The result: France retains solid strengths in non-price competitiveness, but continues to suffer from a price disadvantage, which weakens its value-for-money positioning compared with its competitors.

Recognised quality across several sectors

The first key finding of the study is that French products continue to benefit from a strong qualitative image among European buyers.

France ranks on the podium for non-price competitiveness in three of the four sectors analysed:

• Second place in food and beverages.
• Third place in pharmaceuticals and health & beauty products.
• Third place in clothing and accessories.

Buyers particularly praise innovation, product quality, and associated services, all of which are decisive factors in international competition.

However, home equipment remains France’s weak point, with the sector ranking fifth in the non-price competitiveness classification.

Prices: a persistent handicap

The study nevertheless confirms a well-identified weakness of the French economy: price competitiveness. However, this price disadvantage must be considered in perspective, given Germany’s strong performance despite relatively high prices.

In several sectors, French products are perceived as more expensive than those of their competitors. The situation is particularly pronounced in pharmaceuticals and health & beauty products, where France ranks last among the ten countries compared.

In food products and home equipment, France also sits in the lower half of the ranking.

Nevertheless, one exception emerges: clothing and accessories, where France ranks 2nd in price competitiveness—a performance that remains somewhat atypical in the overall landscape.

Declining value for money

This tension between recognised quality and high prices results in a deterioration in the perceived value for money.

In 2026, France no longer appears in the top half of the ranking in any of the four sectors studied.

It ranks:

• Sixth in food products.
• Sixth in pharmaceuticals and health & beauty.
• Ninth in clothing and accessories.
• Near the bottom of the ranking in home equipment.

This represents a decline compared with the previous survey, conducted in 2022, when France still held more favourable positions in certain sectors.

“The image of the non-price aspects of French consumer goods remains globally positive on the European market. However, our main issue lies in the fact that product prices are perceived as insufficiently competitive compared with those of our international competitors. Consequently, this affects the value-for-money perception, which is judged to be weak by the European importers surveyed, and this perception has intensified in recent years,” explains Laurent Ferrara, Professor of International Economics at SKEMA Business School and President of the International Institute of Forecasters.

Intense European competition

The analysis of France’s main competitors confirms the increasing pressure on French exporters.

Germany maintains a dominant position on non-price criteria, thanks to its reputation for quality and industrial reliability. However, European buyers increasingly perceive its products as expensive.

Italy, for its part, remains a global reference in terms of design and ergonomics, particularly in clothing.

Finally, Central and Eastern European countries continue to benefit from a structural price advantage, while China is progressing on qualitative criteria, gradually narrowing the gap with European economies.

Results consistent with trade developments

The survey’s conclusions echo trends observed in international trade statistics.

In clothing and accessories, where the image of French products remains strong, France’s share of European exports increased from 12.1% to 18.6% between 1995 and 2024.

Conversely, in food products, pharmaceuticals, health and beauty, and home equipment, the share of French exports within the European Union has halved over the past thirty years, confirming the loss of ground to more competitive rivals.

“What clearly emerges from this survey is that French competitiveness is based on real qualitative fundamentals, but fragmented ones. Reputation and innovation are powerful levers, yet they must be accompanied by coherence across the entire value chain — quality, design and price — if European buyers are to perceive their relevance when making purchasing decisions,” notes Marlène Goncalves Andrade, economist at Rexecode, who led the quantitative analyses of the study.

A unique survey conducted for 24 years

The study is based on a survey conducted since 2002 among 480 European importers in six countries: Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, Italy and the United Kingdom.

Respondents, including purchasing managers, sales directors or company executives, are those who directly decide on the choice of international suppliers.

Buyers evaluated products from ten major economic areas (main European countries, the United States, China, Japan, Asian countries, and Central and Eastern Europe) according to nine criteria that are decisive in their purchasing decisions:

• Product quality
• Ergonomics and design
• Technological innovation
• Reputation
• Delivery times
• Associated services
• Variety of suppliers
• Price
• Value for money

Based on these responses, researchers established a comparative ranking of supplier countries and constructed a synthetic non-price competitiveness indicator, measuring the overall perception of products in international markets.

“Our study provides an objective assessment of the positioning of French exports across all non-price criteria. It sheds light on our ability to sustain reindustrialisation over the long term. In a context of rising protectionist measures, non-price competitiveness is a decisive factor of resilience for our exporters,” emphasises Olivier Redoulès, Director of Studies at Rexecode.