Colruyt Group Explained

Colruyt Group
Type:	Public (N.V.)
Traded As:	BEL 20 component
Foundation:	1928
Founder:	Franz Colruyt
Location:	Halle, Belgium
Key People:	Jef Colruyt (Executive chairman)
Industry:	Retail
Services:	Supermarkets, toy and leisure retail, wholesale, cash and carry
Revenue:	€9.434 billion (2018/2019)^[1]
Operating Income:	€485 million (2018/2019)
Net Income:	€384 million (2018/2019)
Assets:	€2.406 billion (2018/2019)
Equity:	€2.208 billion (2018/2019)
Num Employees:	29,903 (2018/2019)
Homepage:	www.colruytgroup.com

Colruyt Group is a Belgian family-owned retail corporation that is managing the Colruyt supermarkets and other subsidiaries such as OKay, Bio-Planet, DATS 24, DreamLand, DreamBaby, and more.

Founded in 1928 by Franz Colruyt, the group today is most significantly known for its eponymous discount supermarket chain, which is one of the major players in especially Belgium. Colruyt Group is headquartered in the city of Halle and has operations in Belgium, France and Luxembourg.

Operations

The group's main business is its Colruyt discount supermarket stores, with over 220 locations in Belgium. The brand competes directly with discount retailers such as Aldi and Lidl.^[2] Other food retail brands operated by the company include the grocery store chain OKay and the organic supermarket Bio-Planet. Colruyt is also one of two franchisees of the SPAR brand in Belgium. In France Colruyt operates its eponymous chain and also supplies the Coccinelle chain of supermarkets.

List of subsidiaries

• Colruyt supermarkets - Belgium
• Colruyt France - supermarkets
• Colruyt Group Services (IT - work simplification - BPM - Marketing - Technics - ...)
• Bio-Planet - Bio (organic) supermarkets
• Colex - Colruyt Export: export of products to Africa, South America, ...
• Collect&Go - online grocery shopping
• ColliShop - e-shop non-food
• Cru - delicacies markets
• DATS 24 - gas stations
• DreamBaby - children apparel
• DreamLand - toy and gift shops
• Eoly (sustainable energy supplier)
• OKay - grocery stores
• Retail Partners Colruyt Group (franchising)
• Solucious - wholesale
• Symeta (formerly Druco) - printing company
• ZEB - fashion apparel store

Milestones

• 1960: purchase of IBM 360-20 to process the famous punch cards as the first supermarket in Belgium.
• 1960s: start of the lowest prices policy with Discount Verloo.
• 1971: opening of the first unmanned DATS 24-hour filling station in Belgium.
• 1987: first company in Belgium to use ‘full scanning’, a barcode on the product to automate replenishment, stock management and orders.
• 1990s: food safety in the light of the dioxin affair. The company suggested to draw up specifications with requirements for suppliers, which were later also used by other distributors.
• 2000: Collect&Go offers Colruyt’s food assortment online.
• 2011: pursuit of animal welfare. No more meat from castrated pigs is sold in the group’s stores since early 2011.^[3] Later, other supermarkets like Delhaize and Lidl followed suit, urged on by the (GAIA), a Belgian organisation for animal welfare.

References

1. Web site: Annual Report 2018/2019. 29 July 2019. Colruyt. https://web.archive.org/web/20200513211122/https://www.colruytgroup.com/wps/wcm/connect/cg/5ff1a60f-3551-48da-98c3-2faab7531159/Annual+report_1819.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=ROOTWORKSPACE.Z18_NI0C1CS0O81620QKM9KAC02H94-5ff1a60f-3551-48da-98c3-2faab7531159-mMYTX4R.pdf. 13 May 2020. dead. PDF.
2. News: Colruyt H1 profit up, but margins shrink. Blenkinsop. Philip. 28 November 2008. Reuters. 2008-12-14.
3. News: No more meat. 22 August 2011. (GAIA). 2011-08-22.