Vinyls, CDs and other collectible records abound in this well-known music shop on rue de la Bourse.

The retiring store manager took over the business in 1982 from his mother, who originally founded the shop. 24,000 of the store’s vinyl records have yet to be sold.

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The store will have a surface area of approximately 250 m², and will only house organic food products.

Carrefour has also claimed that it intends to open two to three more such organic supermarkets in Belgium by the end of the year.

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Both Comeos and the SNI note that spring sales have declined compared to the same period last year. Online sales did increase, but not enough to compensate for the drop in sales in “physical” stores. Interestingly, the spring season had begun well, before slowing down from the end of April. In total, Comeos reports a 3.8% decrease in sales for the January to May period compared to the same period in 2018.

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The Brussels-Capital Region comprises a total of 542,000 households, each of which spends an average of €9,200 every year on consumer goods and services.

As part of this total figure, Brussels-dwellers spend €1.5 billion each year on ‘light-weight semi-permanent’ goods such as clothing, shoes, books, and sports goods.

“Brussels City Center, which hosts nearly 3,000 sales outlets, 700 of which are specialised in the sale of such semi-permanent consumer goods, attracts more than a quarter of the market’s total consumer expenditure,” said hub.brussels in their report. “The rest of the market for such goods is largely concentrated in three other places, including the Woluwe Shopping Centre (10.6% of market share), the Haut de la Ville (8.7%), and the Westland Shopping Centre (5.6%).”

The study also shows that households in Brussels spend €1 billion each year on ‘heavy semi-permanent goods’, such as hardware and furniture.

“The purchase of heavy, semi-permanent goods in Brussels is concentrated in several places,” said the report. “The Brussels IKEA is the most popular location for purchases, and collects more than 10% of the total market share. Other popular places to shop for such goods are the Brussels City Center (9.2%), the Zaventem IKEA (8.4%), and the Basilix Shopping Centre (5.5%).”

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The decision to introduce the pilot scheme was taken after a study conducted by the Colruyt group found that many of its customers using the online Collect & Go service were interested in the possibility of home delivery.

The five municipalities participating in the pilot project were selected for two reasons: firstly, because of their proximity to the Colruyt distribution center in Zaventem; and secondly, because the inhabitants of these communes had expressed a particular interest in having such a service.

The deliveries will be made by Collect & Go employees driving vans running on compressed natural gas (CNG), a relatively ‘green’ fuel compared to diesel and regular gasoline. “These vehicles emit less CO² and fewer harmful substances than gasoline or diesel engines,” the company said in a statement.

The amount charged for the home delivery service will be €9.50, in addition to the standard service fee of €5.50 for the preparation of packages at Colruyt’s collection points (used for its Collect & Go service). The prices of products delivered at home will remain the same as those charged in stores.

Deliveries will take place from 4pm – 9pm on weekdays, and from 8am to noon on Saturdays. Customers will be able to choose their preferred time of delivery within these time windows. Payment will be made on delivery.

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Its inauguration was attended by the Minister-President of the French Community Commission (‘COCOF’), Fadila Laanan, of Belgium’s Socialist Party (‘PS’).

The new shop is the largest in the clothes industry in Belgium, with 5,500 m² of commercial space. It also offers 48 check-out desks and 60 dressing rooms.

The company claims that the new store has created “some 400 jobs”.

“Belgium is an important market for Primark, where we have more than 2,000 colleagues. We look forward to continuing to be part of its community and selling our products here,” says Kevin Tulip, Primark’s Benelux brand director.

Primark, founded in 1969 in Ireland, is known for its low-cost clothing and accessories, but it is also the subject of much criticism for the origin of its products that are sold in its many stores across Europe. Many of its clothes and accessories are manufactured in Bangladesh, where workers are paid on average €80 per month.

The firm has defended itself in the past by saying that the low prices it offers are not purely a result of the low price of labour, but are also explained by the company’s relative lack of advertising and the purchasing of its products in bulk. It also claims to have “a high level of commitment” to improve the working conditions and wages of the manufacturers of its clothes.

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This year six out of ten merchants are not participating in Black Friday based on the 496 merchants who were surveyed by SNI . Meanwhile, one out of two Belgians are willing to spend on this day.

According to Christine Mattheeuws, the President of SNI, « the sheer number of theme days is eating away at the profit margins of retailers, who can not deliver permanent discounts ». Such opportunities include Black Friday, Halloween and Valentines Day.

Last year, stores saw an increase in electronic payments of 19% compared to 2016, when it came to Black Friday. In 2017, Belgians spent 46% more on Black Friday compared to a normal Friday, while Europeans spent 72% more.

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The concept seems quite simple. While the supermarkets are used to being criticized with regard to the fact that the products are not fresh, the Belgian company is trying to challenge those preconceptions.

The Fresh atelier shops should be quite small, about 100 square meters, and will be located in town, to make them as urban and as accessible as possible. Then, the shops will be equipped with a dedicated area to prepare dishes, snacks and smoothies. Delhaize underlines that the dishes will be both fresh and healthy. You can also find coffee machines or salad bars.

Delhaize has also looked at new ways of innovation when it was setting up this new model of shops. The customers will be able to order all the products that the massive supermarkets offer, and to pick them up the day after at Fresh atelier. In case you know what you want to purchase, this possibility may reduce the times you need to go shopping.

The Fresh atelier will also provide you with all the typical items a supermarket is used to offering from 7.00 am to 9.00 pm everyday.

7 or 8 persons will be employed in every shop, while the checkout will be automatic. And as of February next year, you will be able to pay via smartphone.

A first one has been inaugurated last Wednesday, in the presence of Philippe Close, the mayor of Brussels, in the Ravenstein Galleries. A second shop should open in December in Leuven. And Delhaize plans to set up 200 shops across Belgium over the three upcoming years.

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Buying online has been continuously increasing over the past years throughout the World, and Belgium is no exception. According to recent statistics issued by The House of Marketing and SafeShops.com, more than 20,000 Belgian shops were  active on Internet last year, which represents a EUR 5,8 billion turnover (+17% compared to the 2016 figures!).

It is not really surprising. Most of the people compare prices and products online when it comes to purchase a new computer or a mobile phone. But instead of rushing to the city centre after they’ve  made their decisions, it is now very common to directly make the whole process online. And according to surveys, 60% of the Belgian population has already purchased goods online.

“We can be proud of those figures. They reflect the trust of the Belgian consumers, including in the small stakeholders”, Greet Dekocker, executive director of Safshops.be, said.

Who are the winners of such a trend? Thinking about e-shopping directly refers to multinational companies, such as Amazon or the most famous clothing brands. 4% of the stakeholders indeed represent 89% of the e-shopping market share, which means there are clear imbalances. But the ‘small stores’ have increased their online turnover by 48% last year, whereas the average increase represents 15%. And this trend should probably keep on going over the upcoming years.

Internet has not supplanté “traditional shopping”. Although there has been an obvious growth of e-shopping recently, the physical shops are definitely not dead. According to another report issued by Test Achats, more than 70% of the people still purchase goods in traditional stores. Online acquisitions would represent about 20% of the total customer base.

And if you have a walk in Rue Neuve on Saturday afternoon, there is no way e-shopping will take over the physical shops.

Although Internet is definitely a very good plan to compare goods, it is still preferable to have a real look at what you aim to get before buying an item.

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