New Delhi, Sept. 4 -- After over a decade, the French supermarket retail chain Carrefour has returned to India with a strategy markedly different from the one it pursued when it first came here. It is now betting that physical stores still have a role to play even as quick commerce reshapes grocery shopping and traditional retailers retain their dominance.

The retailer, which exited India in 2014 after operating five cash-and-carry stores, opened its first store in Noida on Thursday under a new franchise partnership with Dubai-based Apparel Group. It plans to open about 50 stores across the National Capital Region and Uttar Pradesh over the next three to four years, before expanding to other parts of the country.

It has four formats glo...