Can you outline the Louis Delhaize Group in Europe?
L.H.: Created in Belgium 145 years ago, with an anniversary celebration this year, the Louis Delhaize Group operates in France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Romania. We work in the food sector (hypermarket, supermarket, convenience and proximity plus via the Houra.fr e-commerce site) with brands with strong local identities (Cora, Match, Smatch) and specialised distribution (Truffaut, Animalis). We are a family Group with 29,000 employees. We have Galimmo, a property company. In 2019, at the termination of our supply contract with Francap, our turnover was €7.925 billion. This was the same as 2018. In 2014 a purchasing partnership contract was agreed with Carrefour France for dry and fresh industrial products. We extended this into Belgium in 2019.
How did you overcome lockdown restrictions?
L.H.: Thanks to swift flexibility of service, which is praised by customers, and the commitment of staff, we have had a good first half year.