Albert Heijn ends 2024 with 81 Belgian stores

Albert Heijn has opened a new supermarket in Emblem, near Antwerp. It is the 81st Belgian branch for the retailer, who opened just five new supermarkets in the country this year.

Faster permit process

The Dutch retailer opened its 1,500 sqm supermarket, with eight self-scanning checkouts and two manned checkouts, near its competitors Lidl and Aldi. It will be operated by experienced franchisee Pieter-Jan Vaes, who already has three Albert Heijn supermarkets in the area. The new store is the 81st Albert Heijn to open in Belgium – and the last store opening in Belgium this year. Earlier this year, the retailer also opened in Diest, Lebbeke, Londerzeel and Merksem.

Reaching eighty Belgian supermarkets was an important milestone for Albert Heijn, Managing Director Raf Van den Heuvel recently told RetailDetail in an interview. “With our current eighty stores, we are large enough to be a healthy company. There are some more projects coming up, but in Belgium they do take time.” “I am glad that the new regional government wants to reduce the processing time at the Council for Permit Disputes. That is now often more than a year, it should become less than nine months”, Van den Heuvel added.