Cora to Close Remaining Belgian Hypermarkets in Early 2025

According to RetailDetail, Cora will close its last seven remaining hypermarkets in early 2025. Real estate investment firm Mitiska REIM will take over the assets, as confirmed this morning by parent company Louis Delhaize Group.

No Recovery Possible

“Despite all our efforts and the measures taken to turn the situation around, results remain far too weak, especially considering the ongoing crisis in the Belgian retail sector.

Furthermore, future economic forecasts indicate that a short- or medium-term recovery is no longer feasible,” the Cora management stated, officially confirming the end of its operations in Belgium.

The announcement comes as no surprise: Cora has been struggling with poor financial performance for years, gradually shrinking from an international chain to just seven remaining hypermarkets—now all located in Belgium.

Many analysts argue that the hypermarket format itself has become outdated in a retail landscape now focused on proximity, convenience, operational efficiency, and digital channels. In the increasingly competitive grocery retail market, the traditional hypermarket appears to have reached the end of its lifecycle.

Strategic Withdrawal from Retail

Much like Cora, the Louis Delhaize Group has been rapidly retreating from retail in recent years. Last year, it sold Delitraiteur and several Match and Smatch stores to Colruyt Group, while Delhaize took over the Louis Delhaize neighborhood stores.

Cora’s other remaining operations were already sold to Carrefour (in France and Romania) and E.Leclerc (in Luxembourg).

Assets, Not Operations

Louis Delhaize had injected €30 million in new capital into Cora at the end of last year, offering a temporary lifeline in the hopes of finding a buyer.

However, “no one expressed interest in acquiring integrated hypermarkets,” the company now acknowledges.

All 1,779 employees could face collective layoffs, pending the outcome of ongoing social negotiations. In the meantime, the stores will remain open.

Mitiska REIM, which acquired the properties surrounding the hypermarkets, plans to subdivide the sites into smaller retail units for lease.

“This will allow the shopping centers to continue operating,” the company stated. This outcome had been anticipated from the start, as breaking up large hypermarket spaces into smaller retail units was seen as the most likely scenario.