The figures once again show that the supermarket sector has had a tough 2022. Inflation was 11 percent and stores could not reflect their rising energy and wage costs in their sales prices at the same pace. This is due to increased competition, which limits the room for price increases. The number of supermarkets increased by half in the past decade, mainly due to the arrival of Albert Heijn, Intermarché and Jumbo.
With 3.08 supermarkets per 10,000 inhabitants, Belgium has the highest number of branches per capita in Europe, according to Unizo. France has 2.92 per 10,000 inhabitants, the Netherlands 2.53. Competition is a boon for consumers, but it causes headaches for supermarket management.
Independent retailers cannot increase their prices at their discretion. After all, they are bound by the pricing policy of the chain to which they are affiliated. Players such as Albert Heijn and Jumbo have been imposing maximum prices on their franchisees for years. Carrefour and Delhaize have recently also done this.
Independent supermarkets made an average profit of 106,000 euros last year. That is almost half less than in 2021 and a much lower figure than in 2020. Those were two top years, because due to corona, Belgians did more shopping in local stores.