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While discussions about the redevelopment of the former Makro site in Deurne (Antwerp) are still in full swing, Colruyt Professionals will open its ninth location there on September 16—its third in Flanders.
Spatial implementation plan still pending
On September 16, a Colruyt Professionals self-service wholesale store will open at Krijgsbaan 1A in Deurne—the address of the former Makro—catering exclusively to professional customers: hospitality operators, associations with a VAT number, late-night store operators, and other retailers. Colruyt Group announced this somewhat surprising news on its YouTube channel.
The Makro building had stood vacant since the cash-and-carry chain’s bankruptcy in late 2022; the parking lot was being used as a parking area by the Beerens automotive group. In 2025, the city of Antwerp blocked the development of a retail project involving Euro Shop, Albert Heijn, and Jysk on the site because the project did not comply with the spatial implementation plans. Since then, the province has taken over the case, partly because the site lies within the territories of both Deurne and Wijnegem. A provincial land-use implementation plan is needed to allow for activities other than wholesale trade.
Permit for large-scale wholesale
But Colruyt Group, which owns the complex together with LCV Real Estate, did not wait for those plans. Since the site has a permit for large-scale wholesale, the retailer can indeed open a branch of its business-to-business format there. The retailer had previously announced plans to open about ten Colruyt Professionals locations. That number is now very close to being reached.
The wholesale format opened its first location in 2020 in Schaarbeek and expanded into Flanders earlier this year with openings in Ghent and Machelen (also a former Makro site). With this concept, the company also aims to take some pressure off its regular Colruyt stores by shifting high-volume purchases to the B2B stores. Retailers can shop more efficiently at Colruyt Professionals, with larger carts, wider aisles, and an assortment consisting mainly of bulk packaging, bulk goods, and pallets.
