Albert Heijn plans opening in former Delhaize premises in Lommel

Albert Heijn aims to open a supermarket in Lommel, Belgium, in the first half of December 2026, in premises occupied by a Delhaize franchisee until February. Refurbishment is under way and staff recruitment has begun. The planned opening would bring Albert Heijn’s Belgian store network to 91 by the end of the year.

From vacant franchise premises to a new supermarket

Albert Heijn’s arrival at the former Delhaize site has been confirmed. RetailDetail reported the news on 29 September, citing confirmation given by spokesperson Ann Maes to Het Belang van Limburg. This clarifies the building’s future following earlier rumours.

The supermarket premises became vacant in February after the Delhaize franchisee ceased trading. The reports do not explain why the operator stopped. The available information therefore provides no basis for drawing conclusions about the former store’s performance or the circumstances of its closure.

There is now a concrete plan for the site: Albert Heijn is taking over the premises and preparing to open in the first half of December. An exact opening date has not yet been announced. The refurbishment and recruitment show that preparations have moved beyond a statement of intent.

For those following franchising in Belgium, an important distinction is needed. The former Delhaize was run by a franchisee, but the source reports do not identify who will operate the new Albert Heijn in Lommel. The opening cannot therefore automatically be described as a new franchise outlet.

Lommel brings the annual opening programme to five stores

Lommel is the fifth Belgian store opening Albert Heijn has scheduled for 2026. Stores opened earlier this year in Wilrijk and Haacht. The Haacht supermarket opened on 8 July, becoming the chain’s 88th Belgian store.

Two further openings have been announced for October. Bilzen is due to open on 14 October. An Albert Heijn XL is scheduled to open in Machelen on 28 October, on the former Makro site. Lommel is then expected to complete this year’s opening programme.

That final addition also explains why recent reports have mentioned both 90 and 91 stores. Speaking at RetailDetail’s Retail Marketing Day, marketing director Els Lagrou initially referred to a total of 90 stores by the end of the year. Following confirmation of Lommel, the forecast was revised to 91.

This is a projection based on announced openings, rather than the number of stores already trading at the end of September. For entrepreneurs tracking the expansion, that distinction avoids giving a misleading impression of the chain’s current presence.

Bilzen has a confirmed franchise partner

While the operating model for Lommel has not been specified, the arrangement for the planned Bilzen store is clear. According to RetailDetail, Bilzen will be franchise partner Peeters-Govers’ nineteenth Albert Heijn store.

This makes Bilzen a specific franchise development to watch within the same autumn opening programme. It shows an existing franchise partner adding another outlet to its network. The nineteenth store refers to Peeters-Govers’ Albert Heijn network, not Albert Heijn’s total Belgian store estate.

The three planned autumn openings therefore each require a precise description: Bilzen involves a named franchise partner, Machelen is an XL store on a former Makro site, and Lommel brings a former Delhaize site back into use. The source reports provide no further details about the operators of the latter two stores.

What entrepreneurs can learn from the site’s reuse

The Lommel news is primarily about an existing supermarket site being brought back into use. For prospective franchisees and local entrepreneurs, it is a reason to look beyond the name above the door and ask who will run the store and when its opening date will be confirmed.

The available information confirms the new supermarket, the ongoing refurbishment, staff recruitment and the intended opening period. It does not establish the investment involved, the number of jobs or any involvement by the former operator.

Practical takeaway: watch for confirmation of Lommel’s exact opening date and operator. For those primarily tracking franchise expansion, the same autumn programme already includes an explicitly confirmed opening by Peeters-Govers in Bilzen.