The Kruidvat chain wants to expand its presence in Belgium by targeting Brussels and Wallonia, where the number of stores is considerably less than in Flanders.
"There is still a lot of potential for Kruidvat in Belgium," said CEO of the Dutch drugstore chain Kruidvat Ed van de Weerd, who was opening the third distribution centre in Oosterhout just across the Belgian border.
Kruidvat is renting some 14,000 m² of warehouse space in a huge project with the Willy Naessens construction group, to serve its shops in the south of the Netherlands and Belgium more quickly.
"This way we save 16,000 km per week and 800 tonnes of CO2 per year, equivalent to the emissions of 100 families.
12 to 15 new stores per year
The depot should also help the company to expand further in Belgium. "In the Netherlands, we are present everywhere. We serve our customers within a 15-minute bicycle ride."
In the Netherlands, Kruidvat has almost 1,000 shops. This figure puts it ahead of Albert Heijn, Jumbo, Gall & Gall and Hema.
In Belgium, where the company has been active for 30 years, the story is different. While the Flemish customer base is well known – with almost 290 stores, the company only has 15 in Brussels and 56 in Wallonia.
"We still see room for growth. In the Netherlands, we have 974 shops for 18 million inhabitants. In Belgium, there are 289 stores for a population of 11 million," said the CEO. Currently, 12 to 15 new shops are opened each year and van de Weerd plans to continue at a similar pace.
Pharmaceutical competition in Belgium
In the Netherlands, Kruidvat relies on well-developed online sales. In Belgium, online shopping has been starting to gain momentum since the pandemic. "We see more similarities than differences between Belgian and Dutch customers."
The chain sees more sales during promotions in Belgium than in the Netherlands. Without giving precise figures, the CEO pointed out that the turnover of Kruidvat's online sales would be between 5 and 10% of the total turnover.
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In Belgium, however, Kruidvat faces strong competition from pharmacies, where in the Netherlands medicines such as paracetamol are sold over the counter.
"In the Netherlands, a packet of paracetamol with 50 tablets of 500 milligrams costs €1.19. In Belgian pharmacies, it is often four times as much."
