L-R: Paul Faltz, Administrateur délégué at Cobolux; Cédric Gonnet, Country Director of Delhaize Luxembourg; Credit: Chronicle.lu

Chronicle.lu recently had the opportunity to speak with Cédric Gonnet, Country Director for Delhaize Luxembourg, about the 100th anniversary of the Belgian supermarket chain’s presence in the Grand Duchy.

Context

Several historical events paved the way for the opening of the first Delhaize Luxembourg shop in 1922. As Cédric Gonnet explained, Luxembourg was part of the Zollverein, or German Customs Union, until 1919. Until then, there were “no traces of local and foreign multiple chain stores”, with retail appearing to remain “a lonesome initiative”. With the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, Germany recognised that Luxembourg no longer formed part of the Zollverein (as of 1 January 1919). Luxembourg began tightening its commercial relationships, notably with neighbouring Belgium. Then, in 1921, Luxembourg signed the Convention of Brussels with Belgium, creating the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union (BLEU).

The following year, on 12 January 1922, Delhaize le Lion opened its first Luxembourg shop on Rue Philippe in Luxembourg-Ville. The end of that year marked the first Luxembourg Commercial Fair, which attracted a significant Belgian presence – including that of Delhaize le Lion, which was already active in 24 locations.

Delhaize Luxembourg experienced a decline between 1940 and 1975, with a few shops having been destroyed during the Second World War and the German occupation. During this period, there were no new affiliates and some branches closed. According to Mr Gonnet, the 1980s were characterised by “sectorial difficulties and self-reticence to enter the market with supermarket format”. He added that the Delhaize Arlon supermarket in Belgium had begun targeting Luxembourg customers.

The end of the 1980s marked a new era and the arrival of new formats, however, with the first Delhaize AD shop opening in Pommerloch in 1987. Nearly two decades later, Delhaize Luxembourg opened its first integrated supermarket in Bertrange.

Evolution & growth

When asked to elaborate on how Delhaize Luxembourg has evolved and grown over the past 100 years, Cédric Gonnet explained that “the main evolution over the past 100 years is the multiplicity of different formats of stores”. He noted that the brand had expanded from the original small grocery shop format to four different formats today: the Shop’n Go format in Q8 petrol stations (24 shops in Luxembourg); Proxy Delhaize, smaller supermarkets (less than 1,000 m2), operated by local entrepreneurs (23 in Luxembourg); AD Delhaize, big supermarkets, also operated by local entrepreneurs (one in Luxembourg); Delhaize supermarkets, big supermarkets, operated by Delhaize (ten in Luxembourg).

“With these different formats, we are able to answer customers’ needs whatever is the size of the catchment area. City centre, countryside area, high or low density of population, we can adapt our proposal”, noted Mr Gonnet. “This helps us to be present everywhere in Luxembourg and we can say we are today at five minutes driving time from all residents”.

Innovations

On the subject of innovating Delhaize supermarkets and the product offer, particularly in the context of this centenary year, Cédric Gonnet said:

“We are innovating in a lot of different channels:

  • Increasing the share of healthy products in our brands’ assortment. More and more vegan, BIO, gluten free products. We also constantly improve our recipes to get better Nutriscore results for Delhaize’s brands and products;
  • As part of our strategy to support a healthier planet, we measure and manage our company’s environmental impacts relating to carbon emissions, food waste and plastic waste. As an example, we have replaced our refrigerators in Junglinster with a new generation that is more energy efficient and with improved insulation. The same with LED light bulbs…
  • More local partners like EMO for butchery in eight of our stores. But also more products of the world since residents in Luxembourg have never been as diversified as they are today;
  • More digitalisation through our Super+ app. No more paper receipts needed, commercial flyers also available digitally…”

Looking to the future

Concerning Delhaize Luxembourg’s vision for the future, Cédric Gonnet explained: “Our long-term purpose is ‘Eat well, live better’. Not only do we want to make it easy for people to choose a healthy, balanced diet, but also have access to products that are high quality, responsibly sourced – and of course, delicious! That’s what everyone deserves from us in Luxembourg, wherever and whenever they want to buy and eat a healthy and tasty snack for lunch or get inspiration for the Sunday lunch they have organised with family and friends. We are here for all these moments”.