Belgian retailer Delhaize Group has announced the creation of Delhaize Europe to handle the activities of Delhaize Belgium and southeastern Europe.

The aims of the new company, which becomes operational at the start of 2012, are to “increase the collaboration between the European operating companies, fully leverage the scale of the European operations and generate cost savings and facilitate the sharing of best practices so as to provide a stronger platform for local, regional as well as global growth”.

Delhaize Europe will reportedly be led by Stéfan Descheemaeker, current executive vice president and chief financial officer of Delhaize Group.

Kostas Macheras, will continue to lead the southeastern European operations as chief executive officer of the region, the group added, while Dirk Van den Berghe will take over from Michel Eeckhout as chief executive officer of Delhaize Belgium.

Pierre-Olivier Beckers, president and CEO of Delhaize Group, decribed the creation of Delhaize Europe as an “important step” for Delhaize Group and fully in line with the company’s ‘New Game Plan’ strategy.

“The growth of our European operations, especially after the recent acquisition of Delta Maxi in southeastern Europe and our learnings with the Delhaize America organisation set up in early 2010, have convinced us to set up this structure dedicated to fully leverage the scale of the business, create synergies and share best practices while taking into account cultural and local differences in the region,” he said.

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