Bol.com opens pick-up points in Delhaize supermarkets

Dutch online retailer Bol.com is expanding its network of pick-up points in Belgium. The Ahold Delhaize-owned company will open locations in the supermarkets of Delhaize in Flanders. Consumers in Belgium already had the option to pick up their Bol.com orders at the supermarkets of Albert Heijn.

The new pick-up points are of course a team effort. Ahold Delhaize, the major Dutch retail company that’s formed from the merger of Ahold and Delhaize Group in 2016, does not own only supermarket chains Albert Heijn and Delhaize, but also online retailer Bol.com. The group now combines these three by opening Bol.com pick-up points in both supermarket chains.

Bol.com starts with pick-up points in Antwerp

Bol.com will start with the first pick-up points in Delhaize stores in Antwerp, and slowly expand the number of locations throughout Flanders. Delhaize not only announced the expansion of its in-store service, but also revealed there will be an extra 300 stores to be opened in Belgium in the coming three to four years.

‘Albert Heijn is here to stay in Belgium’

Albert Heijn also revealed there will be more stores in Flanders. Expectations are the Dutch supermarket chain will open between 30 and 50 grocery stores in the next three years. The news confirms the rumors that Albert Heijn would stay in Belgium for a longer period. Ahold Delhaize says its two supermarket formulas of Ahold Delhaize are very complementary and could easily co-exist in Flanders.

“With the three great local brands combined, we have a number two position in the Belgian market and are uniquely positioned to win the hearts of the Belgian customer, both instore and online”, says Wouter Kolk, CEO Ahold Delhaize Europe and Indonesia. “We are on the right track to drive growth with two strong supermarket brands, and large online opportunities with bol.com.”

In the first half of this year, Bol.com will double the surface area of its fulfillment center in the Netherlands, to support the comany’s rapid growth in both the Netherlands and Belgium.