One in six (16.2%) supermarkets in Belgium are facing severe structural difficulties, according to a sector survey conducted by the trade magazine Gondola and data specialist GraydonCreditsafe, Het Laatste Nieuws reported on Saturday.
Specifically, 576 shops are facing financial oblivion at a structural level. "They will go bankrupt sooner or later," says Eric Van Den Broele of GraydonCreditsafe. But many other Belgian supermarkets are also likely to face difficulties, as every other shop has too few reserves to cope with unexpected shocks.
The supermarket sector scores well below the average for Belgian companies.
"Two scenarios are possible: either we will have a lot of bankruptcies in the near future, or there will be even more takeovers and only big players will be left to absorb all the small ones," predicts Eric Van Den Broele.
Supermarket margins have fallen to an all-time low. "For 100 euros at the cash desk, there is 1.29 euros left for the supermarket," says Aurélie Gerth of Carrefour.
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This is not the case for Belgian supermarket Delhaize. Frans Muller, CEO of multinational retail and wholesaling company Ahold Delhaize, which runs Delhaize, Albert Heijn, and Bol.com in Belgium, earned €6.519 million in the 2022 financial year, according to an annual report published by the company.
Delhaize’s record profits have led to tensions with labour groups in Belgium, with relations having worsened as a result of Delhaize's plan to franchise all of its supermarkets.
