bol.com

Delhaize and bol.com, both Ahold Delhaize subsidiaries, are increasingly working together. Today they have started a first commercial action together as the "Back to school" campaign kicks off, but the aim is to find more mutual benefits.

Dutch supermarket chain Albert Heijn is testing selling part of its product range through online market place bol.com. Both are part of the Ahold Delhaize group, which hopes that both of its subsidiaries can profit from the cooperation.

Dutch bol.com has emphasised its expansion plans for Belgium by opening a new head office in Antwerp, where current and future partners can meet. By 2021, Dutch and Belgian partners will account for more than half of all sales on the platform that is part of retail giant Ahold Delhaize.

Two of Ahold Delhaize's branches have started to work more closely together: as of today, shoppers in Antwerp can collect their bol.com orders in some Delhaize supermarkets.

Due to the shift towards home delivery, traditional supermarkets will soon be in serious trouble, Nils Van Dam of Duval Union Consulting predicts. He estimates between 30 to 40 % of supermarkets will have to close in the coming decade, due to a lack of revenue.

Ahold Delhaize has presented excellent results to end 2018: in all of its main markets (the Netherlands, Belgium and the United States) growth was achieved.

Working in a bol.com distribution centre is no laughing matter, although the situation is not as bad as in its American counterparts. Most disconcerting of all may be the consumer's shameless abuse of the webshop's relaxed return policies.