Two Colruyt Group city formats jointly established on Louizalaan in Brussels

Today, Collect&Go Walk-in and Okay Compact are jointly opening their doors on Louizalaan in Brussels. The new Collect&Go collection point aims at urban customers who often do their grocery shopping on foot or by bike. Collect&Go Walk-in offers a wide range of 15,000 products to local customers, while with its 3,000 items, Okay Compact meets daily grocery needs and has a strong focus on fresh products. With this new location in the heart of Brussels, Okay Compact now boasts 20 branches, an important milestone in an ambitious expansion plan.

Collect&Go Walk-in, the online grocery shopping service tailored to cyclists and pedestrians, opened its doors on Louizalaan today. The first walk-in opened two years ago in Elsene on Amerikaansestraat (number 110) and has now relocated to Louizalaan (306). The 47 m² city collection point has a smart layout tailored to vulnerable road users. “On Louizalaan, we are aiming for Brussels residents who want to do their grocery shopping by foot, bike or scooter. That is why we even offer a loaner trolley at the collection point. Our goal is to encourage sustainable mobility and contribute to more environmentally friendly mobility in the capital,” explains Tom De Prater, manager of Collect&Go. The opening of the store and collection point has provided nine new jobs.

Twenty and counting

The new 400 m² branch on Louizalaan is a significant step forward for the Okay Compact city format. The format was first established in 2012 and its expansion has gained momentum in recent years. Including this new store, Okay Compact now has seven branches in Brussels. There are also six in Antwerp, four in Ghent, one in Liège, one in Blankenberge and one in the homebase Halle. Okay Compact aims to open six new locations every year and sees the potential for 100 branches in Belgium. The existing 20 branches represent a significant milestone.

Combination format a success

The combination of Okay Compact and Collect&Go Walk-in had already proved its success in the past in Sint-Gillis. “Around 40% of our customers combine their weekly grocery shopping at Collect&Go with a trip to Okay Compact,” says Tom De Prater, Collect&Go manager. “It is clear that both city formats can reinforce each other. We therefore continue to look for new locations to jointly establish both formats.”

The product ranges of Collect&Go Walk-in and Okay Compact complement one another nicely. Okay Compact gives customers the choice of 3,000 products, with a focus on daily fresh and on-the-go products, while Collect&Go Walk-in gives them access to 9,000 Colruyt products at the lowest prices and 6,000 organic and ecological products from Bio-Planet.

Clear ambition: increase urban market share

Colruyt Group makes no secret of its urban ambitions. Christophe Dehandschutter, Director of Okay, explains: “We want to significantly increase our presence in cities. More and more young people and families are settling in cities. It is important for us to be part of their world and the street scene.” Colruyt Group will therefore be focusing on urban expansion, with priority given to Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent, over the next ten years. “We want to increase our market share in the major cities from around 20% to our national average of over 30%.”
​
​An urban action plan has already been launched and encompasses more than just new Okay Compact stores. Collect&Go also wants to make the difference and is focusing on both home delivery and more collection points in cities that are also easy for vulnerable road users to find and access. Potential is still seen in Brussels, as well as in other cities. Collect&Go is also investing heavily in home delivery. It already delivers at home in 16 of the 19 Brussels municipalities and can thus reach 400,000 households.

Sustainability in the city ​

Colruyt Group attaches great importance to sustainable construction, ensuring the lowest possible environmental impact. The stores are completely free of fossil fuels and the eco-friendly refrigeration system produces 90% fewer CO₂ emissions than traditional cooling systems. In addition, the stores are heated using the heat released by the cooling system, energy-efficient LED lighting reduces power consumption by 30% and there are six bicycle parking spaces. Collect&Go Walk-in customers can ride into the collection point with their bike or scooter to fill their bags on the spot.

Both formats also devote considerable attention to sustainable urban mobility. “City delivery requires additional investments in our fleet of trucks: smaller trucks, adapted trailers and box trucks without a separate trailer. We’ve purchased two of the latter, one that runs on electricity and the other on hydrogen, so that we can also provide emission-free delivery in urban areas. Our city delivery drivers also undergo special driver training and we make a targeted effort to reach agreements with policymakers on mobility and delivery windows,” says Christophe Dehandschutter, Director of Okay.

Practical info:

• Where? Louizalaan 306, 1050 Elsene
• When?
  • Walk-in collection point:
    ​Monday from 12 pm to 7 pm.
    ​Tuesday to Saturday from 8:30 am to 7 pm.
    ​Bio-Planet orders can be picked up from 11 am.
  • Okay Compact is also open Sundays from 8 am to 12 pm.
• How? Customers place their order online via the website or Xtra app and select the collection point ‘walk-in Elsene Louizalaan (walk-in)’. They can pick up their groceries the following day at the time they have selected. ​