This paper focuses on the innovative two-stage procedure developed by Simar and
Wilson to estimate the determinants of French retailing efficiency. During the first stage,
the technical and allocative efficiency of French retailers will be assessed using the DEA
(Data Envelopment Analysis) methodology to identify the best companies, in order to
serve as peers for improving the performance of weaker companies. The companies
analysed have therefore been ranked according to their total productivity over the
period 2000–2004. During the second stage, the Simar and Wilson model will be used to
bootstrap DEA scores via a truncated regression. The economic and managerial
implications arising from this study will also be considered.