Well-prepared
According to Gino, Albert Heijn is doing well in Flanders. "Better than everyone had expected, even surpassing their own expectations. Of course they did extensive research beforehand. Already a lot of Flemish people were coming to AH in the Netherlands, and they had a lot of information about them, partly because of their loyalty card. So there was already a foundation to start in Belgium. From the beginning, Albert Heijn started well, by immediately taking the wishes of the Flemish customer into account. In addition, they have a price advantage in their neighbouring country, of course.
"When it comes to communication, AH also has a very strong position. When a store is opening, everyone knows. In addition, the market reputation is also positive after 23 stores. Where another new supermarket has to wait for customers, AH is making a good turnover in a new store, almost from the start." AH's catchment area is big. "Customers drive far to get to an Albert Heijn. If more stores are opened, that effect will of course diminish. But so far they've been very successful."
Franchisers
The issue Albert Heijn probably faced at first, according to Gino, is the fact that franchisers of Belgian supermarket chains weren't keen on switching to AH. "The reasons were risk avoidance and company culture. Franchisers of Belgian retailers were rather reluctant, because they wondered whether Albert Heijn would survive in Flanders. In addition, the degree of freedom is very high here, while Albert Heijn has much more control over franchisers. Until the recent tipping point: the first Flemish Delhaize switched. That's a very important point for Albert Heijn, and a sign that they're doing well. Because there are a lot of advantages to taking over franchisers, compared to opening a new store." According to him, a remarkable fact is that AH has still managed to find locations for their stores. "Their advantage was of course having a big playing field. They weren't competing with their own stores. Others probably wouldn't pick those locations very quickly, new AH's were also opened in buildings where no food retailers had previously been located. Albert Heijn is well on its way to 50 stores. After that, I really don't see them leaving again."