Colruyt Group: Market Share Under Pressure in Heated Retail Battle
Brussel, dinsdag, 17 juni 2025.
Colruyt Group is struggling with significant challenges in the Belgian retail market. The company saw a slight revenue increase of 1.1% to nearly 11 billion euros, but simultaneously faced a declining market share and a 5% drop in operating results to 446 million euros. The most intriguing development is the fierce competitive battle, with major players like Delhaize, Albert Heijn, and Jumbo increasing the pressure. The market share of Colruyt Lowest Prices, Okay, Spar, and Comarkt declined from 29.3% to 29%, underlining the increasing challenges in the sector. To tackle the challenging macroeconomic context, Colruyt Group aims for a stable operating result in the coming financial year.
Financial Performance Under Pressure
Colruyt Group reported a revenue increase of 1.1% to nearly 11 billion euros, but simultaneously saw its operating result decline by 5% to 446 million euros [1]. The net result shrank by 6.4% to 334 million euros, amounting to just 3.1% of total revenue [2].
Market Share Challenge
The market share of Colruyt Lowest Prices, together with Okay, Spar, and Comarkt, declined from 29.3% to 29%, reflecting the increasing competitive pressure in the Belgian retail market [2]. The group is experiencing strong competition from players like Delhaize, Albert Heijn, Jumbo, Intermarché, and Carrefour [2].
Acquisition Strategy as Growth Strategy
The stable food retail revenue was due to acquired Match stores under the CoMarkt label: without this acquisition, revenue would have declined by 1.3% [2]. Other acquisitions such as Spar, which acquired several Match and Smatch stores, contributed to the revenue increase. The food service activities grew by 21.6%, partly due to the acquisition of Délidis [2].
Future Expectations
Given the challenging macroeconomic context and ongoing competitive pressure in the Belgian retail market, Colruyt Group aims for a stable operating result in the coming financial year [2].