BELGIUM: Ahold Delhaize to rebrand Red Market stores | Progresiv

Calling an end to the Red Market banner, Ahold Delhaize has said the 13 stores under the brand will be converted to into independent AD and Proxy Delhaize store formats by the beginning of December 2016.

Launched in 2009, Red Market has grown to operate from 13 stores, three in Flanders and 10 in Wallonia. The loss making chain has had a question mark over its head in recent years, after the pace of expansion never really got going and it was unable to build enough critical mass in a crowded grocery retail market. The retailer said that to expand it successfully would require ‘major and risky investment’.

However, Delhaize said that the format has enabled it to learn about making its operations more efficient, through the wider use of shelf ready packaging, enabling full self-scanning and through the employment of new promotional and marketing tactics. Many of these initiatives have found their way into Delhaize’s core estate. Following the merger with Ahold, however, maintaining a further fascia seemed unlikely, while the opportunity to roll out successful features of Albert Heijn’s efficient stores in Belgium should mitigate any loss felt by the closure of the Red Market banner. (www.igd.com)