Belgium news and analysis

An update on what has happened at Lidl across Europe recently. Lidl Belgium tests in-store grocery pick-up Lidl is currently testing grocery pick-up at one of its stores, for orders made on lidl-simpl.be. Home delivery has been available since 2018 in the city of Ghent. Customers will be able to pick-up their orders, in-store, for a fee of €2.99. When entering the store, shoppers scan a bar...

We round up the latest news from retailers in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands. Finland: Lidl appoints new CEO Lauri Sippo has stood down as CEO of Lidl Finland, after 20 years at the company. He has been replaced by former operations director, Nicholas Pennanen.  Pennanen commented, “On behalf of myself and our entire staff, I thank Lauri Sippo for his almost 20 ye...

As part of the retailer’s 2022 Transformation Plan, Carrefour committed to creating an omnichannel universe of reference by investing in growth formats. In the last quarter the retailer has opened several new stores across its European-based operations as it looks to grow and embed this part of its strategy. Carrefour adds Supeco banner in France… After opening Supeco stores in several Euro...

We look at how online supermarket Picnic is expanding its reach to Haarlem. Meanwhile, Jumbo has developed a gluten-free private label range and announced the opening date for its first store in Belgium. Picnic expands delivery service to Haarlem From November 2019, Picnic will expand its service to the Kennemerland region, with Haarlem as its centre. This will introduce an additional 115,0...

Ahold-owned bol.com is set to launch a French version of its app in Belgium. The move targets shoppers in Wallonia and aims to accelerate growth in the country. Launching in summer 2020 From Q3 2020, French-speaking Belgians will be able to shop on the bol.com app using their native language. Presently, bol.com shoppers can collect their orders at Delhaize and Albert Heijn stores in Dutc...

We round up the latest news from Ahold Delhaize-owned Albert Heijn as it reports growth in turnover and market share in the Netherlands, expands its store presence in Belgium and launches digital saving. Increased turnover and market share CEO Marit van Egmond said AH had a “difficult year” but is seeing revenue and market share growth in the Netherlands. According to van Egmond, this is ...

We visited the first Carrefour Bio store of Belgium that opened in July 2019 in Brussels. Carrefour operates more than 20 Bio stores in France and plans to expand the concept to other European countries. The Carrefour Bio concept focuses on food with a more limited offer of household and health and beauty products. 1. Encouraging sustainable shopping The store has an area of 200sq m and ...

We look at how Colruyt is improving store efficiencies using an AI solution. Meanwhile, Ahold Delhazie-owned Delhaize is working in partnership with M&S to expand its range. Colruyt trials AI solution for automatic recognition According to Colruyt, it is the first Belgian supermarket to trial an AI solution for automatic recognition of fruit and vegetables at checkouts. The solution, develo...

We round up the latest news from Ahold Delhaize as its subsidiaries bol.com and Delhaize extend their partnership in Belgium. At the same time, Albert Heijn launches a production chain of its private labels online. Meanwhile in the USA, the retailer’s banners roll out new innovative technologies in-store. Delhaize Belgium and bol.com expand partnership Ahold Delhaize’s Belgium subsidiaries ...

As reported in Belgium-based newspaper L’Echo, Louis Delhaize has announced its FY2018 results, revealing a net loss of €929m (US$1.04 bn). The retailer said its operating income also declined from +€204m (US$228m) in 2017 to a loss of €833m (US$932m) in 2018. Louis Delhaize’s revenues remained stable at €8.7bn (US$9.7bn). Loss due to goodwill, restructuring and dispute settlements The reta...