Intermarché wants to further strengthen its position in Belgium, both through new stores and through the expansion of existing stores. With the new Intermarché Express brand, the musketeers are aiming at the city centres.
Extensions and renovations
In the first half of the year, in Wallonia, Intermarché opened two new branches. The chain now has 78 supermarkets in the southern part of Belgium. These are mainly located in rural areas and on the outskirts of the city. The supermarket chain is a modest player in Belgian distribution (2.2% market share according to Nielsen), but did manage to increase its turnover last year by 7.5%.
This growth also comes from extensions and renovations. “With seven to eight renovations a year half of our shopping park will be renovated and expanded by 2022 with almost 20,000 m² of additional retail space”, says Alain Boulle, president of Intermarché Belgium, to LSA.
Emphasis on fresh
A good example of the strategy followed is the Martin Staelens store in Hannuit. It has already been renovated and extended twice, increasing its retail area to 2750 m². He now focuses mainly on self-service and fresh products, which are prepared on site. At the beginning of next year, a new expansion of 300m² will follow, after which the fresh produce department will occupy almost half of the retail space.
The floor area for fruit and vegetables has already increased by 30%. Sushi islands and catering stands have been successfully integrated. Foodservice, and in particular the possibility of consuming dishes on site, will become even more important in the future, especially in the largest stores of the supermarket chain. As a result, the traditional shop racks have almost disappeared in the shop.
Meat and cold cuts are cut and packaged in a spacious workshop with large windows. “I wanted the customer to see at all times how the employees work with the products we sell,” Staelens emphasises. With that ‘openness’ – that also characterises the fish department – Staelens wants to highlight the craftsmanship and know-how of its staff.
Non-food retail
There is hardly any space left at Intermarché for non-food. This market has long been conquered by specialists such as Kruidvat, Blokker and Casa and low-cost fighters such as Action, knows Alain Boulle. “Now, with all these specialists around us, we are reducing the range in textiles, maintenance, perfumery or stationery, in favour of organic food and fresh products prepared locally,” he assures.
On top of the expansion wave that began in 2014, the ‘Musketeers’ dream of conquering the city centres through a new brand, Intermarché Express. But it won’t be easy to enforce a place in a market dominated by big players like Colruyt, Carrefour and Delhaize. We have to wait and see what happens, especially in view of the big plans Jumbo already has in Belgium.
