The strike continues in many integrated Delhaize stores, but the reopenings are linked, too. After more than a month of social movement, difficult to know what will be the turn of events. Because this strike costs millions of euros to Delhaize, but should not push the management of the group to backtrack. “Delhaize will not back down at allassures Pierre-Alexandre Billiet, CEO of Gondola. It is impossible after such an announcement. Should we expect big announcements? I think there will be nothing special, no. This may be shocking, but I think the stores will gradually reopen and customers will resume their habits. Delhaize will, little by little, regain its position, even if the balance sheet for the year will take a hit given this strike of several weeks.”
However, the unions claim to be ready to go to the finish to bend Delhaize. Proof of this is this new action, in the Netherlands, this Wednesday. “I think everyone is gradually realizing that you have to face reality. And then what do we mean by ‘we will go to the finish’? Who is ‘we’? Unions only? Employees too? I think the unions want to achieve certain objectives, but the reality of mass distribution is known to everyone. We will have to get used to this new reality, and the great lesson of the Covid is that Belgians adapt very quickly to a new reality.”, he continues.
Because if we talk a lot about Delhaize for a month, it is only the tip of the iceberg. A whole sector is in a delicate situation. “Delhaize is not the only one in the situation, but it is currently the only one responding to it with a solutionhe says. For its part, Colruyt is busy giving another, with the desire to standardize the joint commissions. It may make sense, but the timing is not ideal.”
Besides the timing, it is also the room for maneuver of the Colruyt group – 100% Belgian – which is limited. “Colruyt is clearly the group most handicapped by the current situation, even if we hear them less. In terms of tax optimization, Colruyt is the one with the fewest possibilities since it is 100% Belgian. But they also come too late with solutions. We had to find some 7 years ago, when the Dutch took over Delhaize. What is striking is that Colruyt is gripped by its belgicism. When other boxes can optimize their commercial situation by betting on the international market, Colruyt cannot.”
So we shouldn’t expect Colruyt to franchise its stores? “Delhaize gives an answer that Colruyt cannot give, because it is not able to franchise its stores. In addition, Colruyt is 100% subject to Belgian legislation: personnel costs are 30% more expensive, product purchases are higher than abroad, taxation is heavier and the model is too small to attack. a foreign market.”
The expert does not go there by the way. “Colruyt’s biggest competitor isn’t Delhaize or Carrefour, it’s the Belgian state. There is a total lack of knowledge of the sector which has an impact on employment and consumption. The government is incapable of imposing taxation on multinationals, and what was voted by the European Commission is a joke. We’re going to recover 200 million according to their calculations, but it’s a trifle. The government therefore unequivocally and irrevocably imposes taxes that it cannot impose on local companies, such as Colruyt.”
From there to say that Colruyt must fear for its future? “Colruyt is in full mutation and is weakened. We cannot yet say that they are in a weak position, but when we go from a profit of one billion to a loss of 500 million in one year, the situation is complicated. They must not miss each other and a few badly chosen moments could be fatal.”