Belgian Delhaize Group has released its first quarter results with mixed feelings. Though turnover rose 8,6% to 5.5 billion euro, the most striking feature was the net result: a loss of 10 million euro, down from a net profit of 126 million last year.

Jérôme Bédier has been appointed new secretary general of the French group Carrefour, a title he takes over from Pierre-Alexandre Teulié. As part of his new function, he also joins the board of directors.

German weekly Der Spiegel has accused discounter Aldi of spying on both customers and employees. One reported abuse was about employees who had been zooming in on customers entering their secret code while paying; another was about them zooming in on cleavaged or short-skirted customers at 'selected moments' – and distributing these images on DVD.

AB InBev, the world's biggest brewery group, saw its sold volume rise by 1.8% to 93.2 million hectolitres in the first quarter of 2012. Due to rising prices, the actual turnover grew by 6.2% to 9.33 billion dollar (more than 7 billion euro), while the net profit almost doubled to 1.69 billion dollar (1.3 billion euro).

A report by ING has caused a little uproar in Belgium, as it was misquoted as saying “Carrefour is leaving the country.” Three specialists in the field of the Belgian food retail shed their light on the report and Carrefour's activities in Belgium.
 

The European Commission has approved Auchan's acquisition of the seven Hungarian Cora hypermarkets from the Belgian Louis Delhaize Group. Auchan now has nineteen hypermarkets in Hungary, and poses no threat to free competition – says the EC. 

French distribution group Carrefour is rumoured to exit up to nine countries this summer, after a publication by leading French analysts concluded neither new markets, nor new formats have been able to improve the group's results. Italy, Turkey and Belgium are among the possible targets for cuts, says the ING report.

Albert Heijn had promised, and starts to deliver: at the opening of its second Belgian supermarket in Stabroek, the chain had promised to lift the number of stores from two to ten this year, and to fifty by 2016. It took over three months for the first supermarket of this year to open, but now things are going a lot faster. Its third Belgian supermarket - just like the two first ones, located in Antwerp - has opened earlier this month; three more have just been announced.

Burger King is looking to expand its activities to Belgium, France and several other European markets. Still, the overwhelming majority of the planned openings is scheduled for its American home market.