Of the 27 Match and Smatch stores not taken over by Colruyt Group, 19 will close at the start of this year, as they failed to find a buyer, revealed the management on Tuesday.
Seven other stores will be taken over by a different retailer, while negotiations are still ongoing for the Match store in Beaumont.
Stores that did not find a buyer include Match stores in Knesselaere, Kluisbergen, Waasmunster, Mouscron and the Smatch stores in Cuesmes, Jemappes, Haaltert, Mechelen, Stembert, Moerbeke, Assenede, Zulte, Tienen, Jodoigne, Deerlijk, Maldegem, Eksaarde, Kalken and Zeveneken. These stores are expected to close between mid-January and March.
The 163 employees working at these locations will benefit from the social plan negotiated on 1 December.
In late September, the Colruyt Group and the Match and Profi subsidiaries of the Louis Delhaize Group struck a deal for the former to take over 57 Match and Smatch stores in Belgium. However, no potential buyers were interested in taking over the remaining 27 stores and logistic services.
