OKay opens new store in Hoeselt on the former Aveve site

On Friday 22 February, OKay opens its 134th store in Hoeselt, Limburg. The former Aveve pet & garden centre made way for a new project of 3 apartments and a store. The practical convenience store has a floor space of 650 m², employs 10 people and has been built using sustainable techniques and materials. Store manager Edith Gielen and her team are happy to invite local residents to the opening reception on Tuesday 21 February from 6 to 8 pm for a snack, a drink and a guided tour.

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

New purpose for the Aveve site

The new OKay is located on the corner of the Hooilingenstraat and the Dorpsstraat in the centre of Hoeselt. The former Aveve pet & garden centre was demolished and made way for a new development with an OKay store and 3 apartments. The apartments are located at the front of the building, which means that the appearance of the street remains that of a quiet residential street. "We had been looking for a suitable location in Hoeselt for a long time and seized this opportunity with both hands", says Patrick Desmedt, expansion manager at Colruyt Group. "Up to now, Hoeselt had been a no-man’s land, with none of our store formulas being present in the neighbourhood.” The opening of a new Colruyt store on the Maastrichterstraat in neighbouring Bilzen is also planned for the end of 2020.

Fresh and modern design

OKay Hoeselt is a new-generation OKay store with a fresh and modern design. "Wide aisles and large glass walls in the fresh market make shopping a pleasant experience", says store manager Edith Gielen. "Our broad range of daily fresh fruit and vegetables will stand out well in there." The fresh product supply is one of OKay's assets: fruit and vegetables, dairy products, meat, cold cuts, fish and ready-to-eat meals. Fresh bread in the bread corner every day, and co-workers bake high-quality rolls and buns in the oven.

OKay offers a varied mix of national brands, private label Boni Selection and discount label Everyday. The local supermarket is also equipped with a handy 'Easy Cooking' counter. It contains all the ingredients for delicious season's dishes. Customers who quickly need to find a meal, don't have to walk through the whole shop.

Lowest possible impact on environment

It is very important to OKay to save energy and build with the lowest possible environmental impact. Consequently, it uses as many sustainable techniques and renewable materials as possible in second-generation stores like the one in Hoeselt. For example, heating is no longer provided by a classic boiler, but using the residual heat of the cooling system. Moreover, the cooling system works on propane, a natural coolant that is much environment-friendlier than chemical coolant gasses and reduces CO2 emissions by 90%. The LED lights in the store reduce energy consumption by 30 %, and they use rainwater for the toilets. The building also has extraordinary insulation and the ventilation system recovers 75 % of the heat from the air.