Price-conscious shoppers boost Colruyt sales

Belgian supermarket chain Colruyt’s home market share rose steadily in the first nine months of its financial year, as cost-conscious shoppers flocked to its stores in the run-up to Christmas, reports Reuters’ Robert-Jan Bartunek. The group’s French wholesale business also reported strong sales, Colruyt said on Monday, causing the group’s food service sales to grow faster than the retail operations. In France, Colruyt also grew sales at its retail business, mainly through the expansion of stores, it said. Nine-month group sales rose by 6.1% to €6.26 billion. Colruyt, which operates 321 supermarkets in Belgium and 61 in France, competes with German discounters Aldi and Lidl and more upmarket chains Carrefour and Delhaize.