Albert Heijn XL opens on former Makro site in Machelen

The first Albert Heijn XL in Belgium’s Flemish Brabant province has opened on the former Makro site in Machelen. The Colpan family, which also runs the Albert Heijn in Merchtem, is operating the store. The new supermarket replaces the branch in Vilvoorde and is described in coverage of the opening as the chain’s 89th Belgian store.

Colpan family leads the new store

Mathieu and Gabriel Colpan head a team of around forty employees. For the family, the opening is not only another step in running Albert Heijn stores, but also a return to familiar surroundings. At the opening, Mathieu Colpan stressed that the brothers had known the location since childhood.

The family also has an Albert Heijn in Merchtem in its portfolio. Day-to-day management of the new XL store therefore rests with entrepreneurs who already operate elsewhere within the same retail network. For those interested in Belgian franchising, this role of local operators makes the opening particularly relevant: behind the store brand is a family running multiple branches.

The move to Machelen involved relocating from Vilvoorde. According to Gabriel Colpan, the operation required a major effort from both the store team and the chain. The opening is therefore not simply about a new address, but also the transition of an existing branch to a different location and an XL format.

Fresh food and convenient meal options take centre stage

The new supermarket offers an extensive range. Highlights include a spacious fresh food area, a bakery and sushi prepared on site. Vegetarian products and a substantial wine department also feature in the range.

Convenient meal options have a prominent place in the store. This focus was also evident at the opening, where television chef Jeroen Meus introduced customers to his fresh ingredient meal kits. The first five hundred customers could also take home a free kit.

Alongside its product range, Albert Heijn is highlighting its weekly promotions. Raf Van den Heuvel, managing director of Albert Heijn Belgium, linked the opening to the ambition to offer customers in Flemish Brabant more. The chain aims to combine a broad range and fresh products with affordable prices.

That positioning reflects Albert Heijn’s own ambition. The opening information provides no comparison of its prices with those of other supermarkets. The concrete news here is primarily the make-up of the range and the prominence given to fresh food and meal options in the new store.

Four conventional checkouts and fifteen self-service checkouts

The supermarket has four conventional conveyor-belt checkouts and fifteen self-service checkouts. It therefore combines two ways to pay, rather than relying entirely on self-service. There are nineteen checkouts in total.

Parking is another notable feature of the location, with more than a thousand spaces available at the site. Together with its setting on the former Makro site, this is a tangible feature of the opening. Coverage of the opening gives no figures for the floor area of the new Albert Heijn XL.

For prospective operators, practical features such as these are useful discussion points when assessing a store project. A product range describes what a supermarket sells; the checkout layout and parking provision show what facilities customers will find there. They do not, however, provide evidence of future store performance in themselves.

New location, existing operation

The opening brings together three elements: the reuse of a former Makro site, the relocation of the Albert Heijn from Vilvoorde and the chain’s first XL store in Flemish Brabant. The Colpan family and its team are responsible for the new supermarket’s day-to-day operation.

The distinction between an opening and a replacement matters when reading news about a retail network. Although the store is described as the 89th Belgian branch, it replaces an existing Albert Heijn. The opening should therefore not automatically be interpreted as adding one store to the previous network total.

Practical takeaway: look beyond the branch number when a store opens. For entrepreneurs interested in franchising, the operators, any relocation, the product range and the facilities at the site also matter.