General
Zalando now charges a "distance fee" to customers in the Benelux for packages coming from further afield. The free shipping trendsetter is retracing its steps, and others will follow.
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COVID-19 represented an unprecedented obstacle for the retail sector in 2020. But what is the concrete impact of the crisis? What can we learn from it, and will we remain under the spell of the Covid story in 2021? Four retail experts reflect, and look ahead.
In order to gain market share in the Benelux, Amazon charges significantly lower prices than direct competitors such as bol.com, Coolblue or MediaMarkt. And that pays off: the webshop attracts more customers.
Food
Supermarket group Ahold Delhaize experienced strong growth again last quarter thanks to the corona crisis. Online sales are thriving: the retailer is announcing investments to significantly increase its e-commerce capacity.
Amazon has not yet been able to meet the high expectations following the launch of a Dutch webshop. It turns out that a mature market cannot be taken over just like that. And corona was both a curse and a blessing.
Dutch online platform Bol.com has officially expanded to the French-speaking part of Belgium with the implementation of the French version of its app. The Ahold Delhaize subsidiary is now looking to expand with local partners.
The coronavirus crisis has given wings to Ahold Delhaize: the supermarket group achieved a 16 % rise in turnover this quarter, while doubling its profits. The current pandemic caused a 78 % increase in online sales, causing the group to revise its full-year forecasts upwards.
As was to be expected, Ahold Delhaize experienced a major impact of the corona crisis during the past quarter. In both Belgium and the Netherlands, the retailer again managed to increase its market share.
The current crisis is forcing us, retailers, to take a break and look in the mirror: are we still relevant, do we still see opportunities, do we still want to invest, do we still feel the drive to get back to work?
Ahold Delhaize's non-food webshop bol.com is due to open its French version in June, starting its offensive in Brussels and Wallonia. On its annual general meeting, the Dutch retail group also approved a prolonged Belgian presence in its supervisory board.
The arrival of Amazon in the Benelux is causing a landslide. Experts take a gloomy view: an immeasurable product range, very low prices and the cheap Prime membership are the ingredients of a deadly efficient ecosystem. What can local players do against that?
Ahold Delhaize had already released its financial results a fortnight ago, but now the Dutch retail group has also published its full annual report. We shed some light on a few remarkable figures.
Ahold Delhaize ended 2019 on a high: sales and profit increased slightly more than expected, and online sales grew by more than 30 %. Dutch Albert Heijn and Belgian Delhaize both gained market share, American growth came mostly from online.
Bol.com is a superpower in the Benelux e-commerce sector, but its exact figures have long been a well-kept secret. In order to support its own share price, owner Ahold Delhaize has been considering more openness about the figures in recent months, but for fear of Amazon's expansion to the Netherlands, this plan has been abandoned.
Fashion
As of today, bol.com also sells clothing. Among its fashion partners are big names like About You, Jack & Jones, Miss Etam and Zeeman.
Retailers in the Benelux will face declining consumer confidence and increasing competition in the coming years, credit rating agency Moody’s says in a new report. Traditional retail chains are forced to make high investments due to the growth of online retail, which has a negative impact on profits and creditworthiness.
