A quarter century for Carrefour in Belgium
Carrefour is celebrating 25 years of presence in Belgium, making it the perfect occasion to sit down with Geoffroy Gersdorff, CEO of Carrefour Belgium. He took the opportunity to look back on the company’s key milestones, its current health, and upcoming projects. Throughout the conversation, the discussion touched upon evolution, transformation, and the group’s fundamental mission: making life healthier, simpler, more sustainable, and more affordable for everyone.
And indeed, during the interview, Geoffroy Gersdorff came across as approachable and open to discussing both successes and challenges faced by the company.
Something concrete with Act for Food
When asked to mention a milestone, Geoffroy Gersdorff immediately referred to Act for Food. “It’s a way to speak to consumers and partners with tangible actions,” he explained.
Today, Carrefour offers around 6,000 private-label products, and one in two items scanned at checkout is a Carrefour product. Every second, 100 Carrefour-branded items are sold, a quite surprising figure.
Over the years, Carrefour has thoroughly reworked its private-label range: composition, ingredients, origins, and packaging have all been redesigned.
The Carrefour Quality Line (Filière Qualité Carefour)is also a key initiative, guaranteeing traceability and quality. Although, according to Gersdorff, it still remains too little known by the general public.
In the organic segment, Carrefour also aims to remain a pioneer by offering the broadest and most affordable range on the market under its own brand.
The company is also taking steps to reduce its environmental impact:
- Lowering energy consumption
- Fighting food waste (through partnerships with Too Good To Go and AI-based stock management tools)
- …
Finally, the CEO proudly highlighted Carrefour’s support for causes such as Pink Ribbon, Child Focus, and many others dear to both consumers and employees.
Strong local roots
In 25 years, Carrefour has successfully established itself across Belgium, a feat few retailers can claim. In recent years, several foreign chains entered the Belgian food landscape as conquerors but met with mixed results. Most remained confined to one region (except Lidl and Aldi, but they operate under a different hard-discount model).
“We are a Belgian company, and that’s why it worked,” stated Geoffroy Gersdorff. “A franchisee invests in their store and community — they don’t move away two years later. That local connection is our strength. The ‘one size fits all’ approach doesn’t work. We will never impose it on our franchise partners. Carrefour defines itself as a national brand adapted to each local area. In short, we are a Belgian, young, and committed company.”
Availability and accessibility
Another key theme in the discussion was availability — of products, formats, and services. Carrefour offers the widest assortment in the country and provides additional services such as photo booths, lottery, and parcel pick-up points.
Its multi-format ecosystem includes hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience stores, and a digital pillar covering e-commerce and quick commerce (in partnership with Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Takeaway).
E-commerce remains modest in Belgium compared to France or the Netherlands, largely due to the dense store network. “Quick commerce is growing and is no longer just for emergencies,” noted Gersdorff.
Regarding Sunday openings, Carrefour continues its discussions with social partners for company-owned stores. “Sunday openings are an opportunity for our integrated stores, as they already are for our franchisees. The discussions are lively but constructive. We hope to reach a balanced agreement by 2026. The status quo is not sustainable.”
Accessibility is another priority: Carrefour multiplies promotions open to everyone, not only loyalty cardholders. The Carrefour Bonus Card now counts 2 million families, offering average savings of €375 per year.
“We’re not the cheapest retailer, but our price-cut campaigns have paid off. Customers now perceive Carrefour as more competitive,” he added.
The offer is structured clearly: Simpl for basic needs, Carrefour for the core range, national brands, and finally a premium line.
To embody its price commitment, Carrefour launched its mascot Croc’Prix.
“Talking about prices can sound aggressive. A mascot makes it more positive and engaging.”
Innovation at the core
Retail is a fast-paced, demanding, and fascinating business. “Each year, we renew about 20% of our assortment,” said the CEO.
Eating habits are diversifying: diets, allergies, values, smaller portions…And also viral trends from TikTok or elsewhere force teams to adapt quickly. “Fifteen years ago, everyone ate the same. Today, a product can go viral overnight. Our category managers must move faster than ever.”
Digitalisation is another key driver. All managers now work on the move, supported by data-driven tools. Checkout systems have evolved with self-scan, mobile scan, and various innovations like BuyBye.
“Not everything succeeds, but that’s normal. Innovation means learning.”
Future challenges
Among future challenges, Geoffroy Gersdorff highlighted several:
- Data will become essential to move from mass marketing to a one-to-one relationship with consumers, while respecting GDPR and other legislations of course.
- Cross-border shopping remains a concern, as tax differences create imbalances with neighbouring countries. Carrefour plans to work with Comeos to preserve Belgian retail competitiveness.
- After turbulent years, stabilizing the company was a priority — now achieved. “We’ve done it, and can now focus on commercial momentum,” he said.
Carrefour is currently the leader in proximity format, a segment competitors are now eyeing.
“Our goal is for every store to become the favourite neighbourhood shop in its area. To do that, we must listen to franchisees and store managers — they know their customers.”
As for hypermarkets, Gersdorff remains confident: “Our hypers are smaller than those of defunct chains and have evolved over time. We offer more food, more services, more meal solutions, and a focus on key seasonal moments (Saint Nicholas, Barbecue, Holidays…). Recent studies, including YouGov, confirm rising customer satisfaction in Carrefour’s hypermarkets.”
Ready for at least 25 more years
After a quarter century, Carrefour Belgium shows a strong balance between local anchoring, innovation, and sustainability. Despite market turbulence and rumours, Geoffroy Gersdorff remains confident about the future. After stabilizing, the goal is to boost commercial momentum, product offer, turnover, and operational efficiency. As he concluded:
“We are a Belgian, young, and committed company. And it’s this identity that will allow us to keep growing for the next 25 years.”
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