This August sees a new chapter in a Belgian-Luxembourg entrepreneurial success story: Martelange.lu has announced its takeover of the Delhaize store in Recogne, in the Belgian municipality of Libramont.
This operation is part of the franchising, announced in March, of 128 shops previously operated by the Delhaize brand. On Monday 7 August, Delhaize announced the names of the first 15 shops to be taken over by independent operators, including the one north of Neufchâteau. The takeover is due to take effect in the autumn.
We saw this project as a great opportunity for expansion.
“This takeover is part of our strategy to develop and diversify our activities. We are historically attached to the mass retail sector and we saw this project as a great opportunity for expansion. Delhaize is a strong brand name in the market and the outlet concerned has a very high profile in the region, so we want to strengthen its local roots,” explains Jérôme Jamart, operations manager at Martelange.lu.
Eight existing locations
The company currently operates eight stores, all located on the Luxembourg side of the border and the best known of which being drink specialist DPS Supermarket. It has set up a Belgian company, Lion’s Retail, to take over the Delhaize shop in Recogne.
And while on the Belgian side some concerns have been expressed in the media about the operating conditions and prospects for profitability, this is not a worry for Jamart: “I believe that the contract I have signed is correct and clear, with precise agreements on certain aspects, and that it leaves sufficient scope for entrepreneurial freedom and flexibility.” He is already familiar with franchises, operating two Q8 service stations and a Leonidas shop.
Martelange.lu continues to work on other expansion projects, but prefers to remain discreet about them. It will have some 120 employees after the Delhaize takeover, and Jamart is confident and also displays a particular emotional attachment to the outlet. His father worked there from its opening day in 1975, and was later joined by his wife. “And I myself worked there as a student,” adds the entrepreneur.
This article was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.