****** Cora will close its 7 stores in Belgium early 2026: nearly 1,800 jobs threatened ******

During an extraordinary business council, the management of the distribution company Cora announced on Tuesday its intention to cease the activity of its seven hypermarkets and support services at the beginning of 2026. It also plans to divest shopping galleries adjacent to hypermarkets. This announcement involves the launch of an information and consultation procedure prior to possible collective redundancies for all the 1,779 employees currently employed by the company.

The leadership of the Louis Delhaize group, which has seven hypermarkets in Brussels and Wallonia (Anderlecht, Châtelineau, Hornu, La Louvière, Messancy, Rocourt and Woluwe-Saint-Lambert), cites several reasons for this cessation of activities: from “the erosion of purchasing power” to “the rise in the power of online commerce”, to competition from foreign shops and the decline of the hypermarket model.

“In Belgium, the segmentation of the sector into various joint committees has also created and maintained distortions of competition that are detrimental to department stores like Cora,” the brand denounces. “For all these reasons, Cora has suffered significant operating losses for years, despite the constant efforts of staff and management to correct its financial situation,” continues the brand, which recalls the “many initiatives” put in place over the last 10 years to boost its sales and the "successive recapitalisations of its shareholders. "

***** No long-term viable solution *****

“Future economic projections also show that short- and medium-term recovery is no longer possible”, continues the article, referring to a situation that is no longer “long-term sustainable”. Cora explained that it had examined the path of the divestiture of hypermarkets to one or more major distribution companies, but none of them had shown interest in a recovery of hypermarkets integrated in the current market conditions.

Management also said that it had explored, in vain, several options such as implementing new recovery plans, adapting its work organisation or revising the store format. By the end of the procedure and the possible closure, Cora will continue its activities and hypermarkets will remain open. “Management shares the emotion and shock generated by this announcement for workers who have in no way demerited. Today’s announcement is the result of contextual factors and is in no way a result of a lack of combativity or skill of the collaborators, who can be extremely proud of the challenges faced in recent years”, continues the brand.

At the same time, the shareholder of Cora and the Galimmo company, which owns the galleries adjacent to the Cora hypermarkets and manages the shopping centers, plans to sell them to the real estate company Mitiska REIM, which will buy the real estate assets. “This project aims to renovate the spaces currently occupied by Cora and to subdivide them into smaller units for rent. It will allow the shopping centres to continue their activities and to preserve the direct and indirect employment of the barge areas”, according to Cora. The proceeds of this sale will enable the company to finance "social and various obligations related to the potential transformation envisaged. "

***** Last of the Louis Delhaize group *****

Cora is the last active distribution brand in the Louis Delhaize group after the Match, Smatch and Delitraiteur sales in Colruyt and Louis Delhaize in Delhaize. Carrefour also purchased the French and Romanian activities of Cora and Match, and E.Leclerc took over Cora Luxembourg.

For Ensign Cora, the Louis Delhaize group has long been in search of a successor, but without success. By the end of last year, the chain had again had to receive a capital injection of EUR 30 million.

***** Union reaction *****

The socialist union Setca reacted with disappointment to the announcement of the future closure of the 7 Cora hypermarkets. He asks management to find solutions other than the pure and simple closure of shops. The trade union organisation also asks policies to provide for “soft” departure solutions if the closure of shops is confirmed.

“At a time when the government is shouting haro about pre-pensions, we affirm that they are indispensable to any social solution of such a tragedy. Our policies have made the exclusion of jobseekers after two years of unemployment benefits their principle. This principle is untenable”, tonne setca. “We then demand that they find a job for these Cora workers, who are worn out by the working conditions of the large distribution industry and who, however, only ask to continue to work,” adds the union.

Half of the workers are over 20 years old and 61% of them are over 45 years old, the socialist union still notes that full families sometimes work at Cora and that the tragedy of job loss will then be multiplied by two or three.