Carrefour to launch 'Easy' stores at 100 Belgian locations

Supermarket chain Carrefour has launched a new type of supermarket – the Carrefour Easy, which will eventually see 100 locations across the country. Two Easy stores are already open: one in Antwerp and one in Lennik, Flemish Brabant.

The new store is something in between the existing Express (up to 400 square metres) and Market (up to 2,000 square metres). With the original hypermarkets, it becomes the fourth format of Carrefour outlet.

Easy puts an emphasis on fresh produce intended for daily purchase – fruit and vegetables but also meat, fish and a wide range of breads and baked goods – with only a limited range of non-food goods. The stores will also feature promotions adapted to the local customer base.

Like the other smaller formats, Easy stores will have variable opening hours, as well as Sunday openings. The two existing Easy stores have been testing the concept, and six more will open in Belgium before the end of the year, although Carrefour is not yet revealing the locations.

Carrefour Belgium attracts 650,000 customers a day; the French-owned Carrefour group is the largest retailer in Europe and second-largest in the world after Walmart.

Photo courtesy Carrefour