Paris supermarket Franprix coming to Brussels

Those who know Paris know Franprix. And now the grocery chain – with few outlets in France outside of Paris – appears to be planning to test the waters in Brussels. Franprix is a subsidiary of French supermarket giant Casino.

The French retail news site LSA confirmed with Franprix that a test site was being planned for the centre of Brussels, though an exact location has not been confirmed. Parent company Casino refuses to say if this is the first of multiple outlets or not, only that “we do not yet have the intention to create a market outside of France”.

Franprix adjunct director Cécile Guillou, however, let loose with a few details that will sound familiar: that they are struggling with packaging that must be in two languages. “We are working out a few problems,” she told LSA. “It’s complicated, but we learn something new every day.”

Franprix recently began a redesign of its stores in Paris, devoting a section to in-store snacking, with tables, chairs and microwaves and introducing staffed cheese and deli counters.