Close down or join up

The Vendex acquisition of Brico with its 100 outlets in Belgium is gradually bearing fruit. Now a new retail channel, Brico Plan-it, is taking shape. The intention is for the Leroy Merlin stores that have likewise been taken over to operate under the Brico Plan-it flag from next March too. The same is true for the Castorama outlets, which were on the Vendex shopping list as well. No final decision seems to have been made yet about what is going to happen to Brico Dépôt. Will the stores continue to be run as an independent chain, or will they too be combined with the others under the Brico Plan-it logo? How is Brico Plan-it going to present itself anyway? Will it be geared to the Netherlands Praxis stores in so far as the outward appearance is concerned?
It is to be expected that the process of internationalisation and consolidation will continue still further, to the detriment of the independent retailers. However, it is worth noting that no less than four big names in the French DIY retail scene have disappeared from the Belgian market: Castorama (now Vendex), Leroy Merlin (Vendex), Bricorama (Gamma) and Bricomarché (Hubo).
Gamma and Hubo have both had an eye on the Superbois group, which has its headquarters in Liège. Rumour has it that this group might some day be up for takeover. If that were the case, Gamma and Hubo would draw level with Brico Plan-it/Vendex in Belgium. The difficulty here is that Superbois is made up half-and-half of franchised and centrally-managed stores.
In the meantime, more and more independents are giving up their business. They are faced with three alternatives: to further specialise in one particular direction, which in most cases requires financial resources; to close down altogether; or to join one of the big groups. One thing is certain: that there will be developments in this area over the course of the year.