Carrefour intends to open its Belgian company-operated stores (44 supermarkets and 40 hypermarkets) on Sundays as well. The unions were “surprised” by the initiative, but are “willing to engage in discussions”.
How will competitors react?
As the new Belgian government has agreed to pave the way for extended retail opening hours, Carrefour has announced its intentions to open its 84 company-operated stores on Sundays. The trade unions are less keen on the move, but “The positive aspect is that Carrefour is prepared to address this through social dialogue“, they told Belgian newspaper De Standaard.
The question now is how competitors will react. Since Delhaize‘s decision to transfer its 128 company-operated stores to independent entrepreneurs, most of whom also open on Sundays, Sunday trading has become a divisive issue in food retail. Both Carrefour and market leader Colruyt have been losing market share to Delhaize since the operation, while discounters Aldi and Lidl are attempting to respond with Saturday promotions for fresh products.
Colruyt has so far been reluctant to embrace Sunday openings: the retailer argues that if all supermarkets open on Sundays, the sector gains nothing while costs increase. Franchising company-operated stores is not under consideration for the market leader, even though the reality is that not opening on Sundays is becoming a significant competitive disadvantage. It remains to be seen whether this development will reignite stalled discussions about the different joint committees in the retail sector.
