Dutch retail group Ahold has made its first move in the neighbouring Belgian market by opening a store in Brasschaat, just outside Antwerp and close to the Netherlands border.
According to Reuters, the store – which contains some 1,500 Flemish products not normally available in Dutch Albert Heijns – is the first of what the group hopes will be a chain of Albert stores across Flanders, the Dutch-speaking area in the north of Belgium.
'We want to achieve growth, many Belgians already shop in the Netherlands, logistically it is relatively efficient and the language is similar,' Albert Voogd, managing director of new markets and format development of Ahold Europe, told Reuters.
Mr Voodg told the news service that there would be further stores added in Belgium this year, but did not reveal how many would open.
Meanwhile, Ahold has announced that it has repurchased just over 1.7m in Ahold common shares for the period from 7 March 2011 up to and including 11 March 2011, for a total consideration of €16.8m – part of the €1bn share buyback programme announced on 3 March this year.
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