According to Jumbo‘s financial director Ton van Veen, the Dutch supermarket chain has made an exceptionally strong start in Belgium. During the first week, turnover at the new store in Pelt was 50 % higher than expected.
“Room for growth”
The start of the first Belgian store, which opened last week in Pelt, exceeds all expectations. “The turnover for the first week exceeds our wildest expectations and is no less than 50 % higher than we thought”, Van Veen told local newspaper Brabants Dagblad. “We did not achieve this overnight. Belgian customers are different from Dutch customers. If you know the customers well and appeal to them, then there is certainly room for growth”, the CFO continues.
Jumbo intends to open around a hundred stores in Belgium in the near future, making the Belgian expansion one of the two pillars upon which the supermarket chain wants to build its future growth. The other pillar is the development of a network of convenience stores of the Jumbo City concept: Jumbo now has seven such shops, but that too is intended to be raised to about a hundred. “Especially in inner cities, there is a need for shops where you can buy a sandwich or a fresh meal quickly. With the fresh products offered by [our restaurant chain] La Place, we really have something to offer.”
Jumbo expects to achieve a turnover of 8.5 billion euros for this year, but Van Veen would like to exceed 10 billion in 2021. “In 2021, our company will be celebrating its 100th anniversary and our aim is to achieve a turnover of ten billion that year. If current growth continues, we are going to make that.”
