Who We Are

Colruyt Group

Colruyt, a family company from Lembeek in Flemish Brabant, first appeared about 80 years ago. Today, we have grown from a small company into a whole family of companies: Colruyt Group.

Colruyt Group consists of over forty brands for individuals and businesses. We are most famous for our food retailing, but we are also active in non-food and fuel, wholesale and foodservice. To know more about all our shops, webshops, services and private labels in Europe, visit our Group website.

Our History

2019

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Xtra has more than 4.5 million customers! Meanwhile, you can also use Xtra to pay in our stores and refuel at DATS 24. With both the app and the card.

Dec 2017

We become co-owner of web pharmacy Newpharma and bring in a lot of expertise in e-commerce, logistics and marketing.

Sep 2017

The first stores without gas or oil boiler emit 99% less CO2 for their heating.

Jun 2017

Eoly can supply green power to the first public charging stations network in Flanders.

Apr 2017

Coryphée and Magic Star: two new, sustainable apple varieties exclusive for our group.

Mar 2017



Xtra: all the specific advantages of 10 Colruyt Group stores and web shops

Feb 2017

The SmartWithFood app helps customers to find tailor-made nutrition.

Jan 2017

Colruyt Group Fine Food Meat opens a second site, including a production line for vegetarian alternatives amongst other things.

Aug 2016

Colruyt Group becomes a ‘voice’ of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

Mar 2016

The official opening of Colruyt Group’s new hydrogen station on the Dassenveld site in Halle.

Jan 2016

Of the 100% sustainable electricity that the group uses, 25% is now produced by Eoly.

Jan 2016



Colruyt Lowest Prices switches to sustainable propane refrigeration in its shops.

Jan 2016



Colruyt Group engineers innovate with a new kind of refrigerated container with liquid ice for transporting fresh products.

Nov 2015

Energy producer and supplier WE-power renames itself Eoly.

Sep 2015

OKay and Bio-Planet get their own distribution centre in Lot.

Aug 2015

Collect&Go gets a new logo and a fresh look, and extends its service with the Bio-Planet range.

May 2015

A new distribution centre opens in Ath/Lessines.

Apr 2015



Colruyt France opens the first example of a brand new shop concept in Dôle.

Nov 2014

The first Cru market opens in Overijse.

Sep 2014

Customers can now also pay using their mobile phones in Colruyt Group shops and webshops.

Sep 2014



Collibri also supports training projects for young people in difficult socio-economic circumstances in Belgium.

Aug 2014

Colruyt Group supports Belgian apple and pear growers and pig farmers, with volume purchases for example.

Jun 2014

Colruyt Group acquires 50% of the Belgian clothing chain, ZEB.

May 2014

Symeta stops its offset printing activities.

Jan 2014



Colruyt Group Fine Food Bread bakes its first bread for Colruyt and OKay.

Jan 2014

Baby specialist Dreambaby unveils its house brand: Dreambee.

Oct 2013



Dreamland launches its own toy brand under the same name.

Sep 2013



The group launches a new logo. With Colruyt Group as the family name, all chains keep their links with the past.

Aug 2013

Collivery and Foodinvest merge to form Solucious, a new foodservice company.

Jul 2013

WE-Power is recognised as Colruyt Group’s electricity supplier.

May 2013

The new Boni Selection house brand is created and combines more than 50 former Colruyt Group house brands.

Aug 2012

The first OKay Compact opens in Ixelles.

Jun 2012

Colruyt’s first low-energy shop opens in Wépion.

Jun 2012

Colruyt Group completes the financing of the Northwind wind farm and combines all its sustainable electricity activities under WE-Power.

May 2012



In addition to selling loose eggs, Colruyt Group now resolves to have free-range eggs in all its house brand products.

Apr 2012

The group sells the industrial automation company intrion to its management.

Feb 2012



Colruyt Group produces 100% green hydrogen and tests it as a sustainable energy source.

Jan 2012

Colruyt Group opens an office in Hong Kong to look after Far East purchasing.

Jan 2012

Colruyt Group crosses the 25,000 employee threshold.

Sep 2011



Jef Colruyt introduces Colruyt Group Academy, the training institute for employees, customers and partners.

Jun 2011

Customers can now order their shopping using their smartphones via the Collect&Go app.

Apr 2011

The 50th French Colruyt shop opens.

Feb 2011



DATS 24 opens the first Belgian public CNG fuel stations (natural gas for vehicles), one of the most sustainable fossil fuels.

Jan 2011

Printer Druco and Mitto merge to form Symeta, specialist in print and document management, as well as in direct marketing.

Jan 2011

Colruyt Group launches an ethical charter for its buyers.

Dec 2010

The first wind turbines in the Belwind wind farm off the coast of Zeebrugge start operation. Colruyt Group is one of the shareholders.

Oct 2010



Bio-Planet Leuven is the first low-energy shop in the country.

Sep 2010



Rice from Benin is the first Colruyt house brand product to carry the Max Havelaar label.

Apr 2010

How can we have a stronger impact on those ahead of and behind us in the chain? Our response: source more sustainably and help customers consume more consciously. We set our commitment formally in a manifesto.

Jan 2010

From now on, 1.6 million Colruyt customers get a personalised ‘Selection for you’ folder.

Jan 2010

Colruyt Group takes over Foodinvest, one of the largest players in the Belgian foodservice market.

Apr 2009

Printer Druco joins forces with Mitto, a specialist in one-to-one-mailings and document management.

Jan 2009

Dreamland opens its first French shop in Leers.

Sep 2008

Dolmen Industrial Projects and Createch Engineering merge to form intrion (automation of production and logistics processes).

Jun 2008

The first Colruyt shop opens in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

Jan 2008

Colruyt Group starts buying green electricity.

2007



Colruyt launches the Extra card: coupon clipping is a thing of the past.

Sep 2006

The second wind turbine is built in Ghislenghien, and solar panels are fitted to the Colruyt shop in Ninove and to the Halle distribution centre (8,000m2).

Jan 2006

The new Everyday house brand gathers low-price brands from Colruyt, OKay, Spar and Codifrance under one single name.

2005



A new brand name appears: Collibri Foundation. A fixed percentage of the profit from the Boni Selection products goes to education and training projects for third world youngsters.

Jan 2003

Colruyt Group becomes licence holder of the Spar chain in Belgium. As a result, it once more works with independent shopkeepers.

Jan 2003



The term ‘Colruyt Group’ makes its appearance with the orange logo. It needs to be clear to the outside world that this is a family of companies and no longer just a family business.

2002

Dreamland and Colruyt draw up a charter against child labour.

Dec 2001

Colruyt starts Pro à Pro, a major foodservice player in the French market.

Oct 2001

The first Dreambaby opens in Tienen, specialising in baby products.

Jul 2001

Colruyt opens its first Bio-Planet organic supermarket in Kortrijk.

2000

Thanks to Collect&Go, customers can also order their shopping online and pick it up in a Colruyt shop.

1999

The company builds its first wind turbine in Halle.

Jan 1998

The neighbourhood shop chain OKay and Collivery, the home delivery service, open.

Jan 1998

The neighbourhood shop chain OKay and Collivery, the home delivery service, open.

Jan 1998



Colruyt’s truck drivers sign a charter for safer and more courteous driving.

1997

Colruyt opens its first shop in France.

1996

The group acquires all the shares of French retailer Ripotot and crosses the border for the first time.

Oct 1994



Jo dies. His son Jef Colruyt follows in his footsteps. The company now has over 5,000 employees.

Jan 1994

The group expands with 5 Droomland shops which are later renamed Dreamland.

1990

Colruyt’s management and employees commit themselves to the environment (Green Line charter) and the first organic products hit the shelves.

1987



Colruyt is the first retailer in Belgium to introduce ‘full scanning’: no more punch cards, just barcodes which are read at the till. So supplies, stock management and ordering are further automated.

1984

The meat processing company Vlevico (Vlees Viande Colruyt) gets a new building in the Stroppen (Sint-Pieters-Leeuw) industrial zone.

1982

Colruyt’s IT system is unique in European retailing. An independent company, nv Dolmen, grows out of the IT department.

Jan 1979

Nv Colruyt is listed on the stock market.

Jan 1979



Colruyt’s own printing company, nv Druco, is created from the printing department.

1976



All Discount shops are renamed Colruyt because competitors now also use the term ‘discount’.

1974

The Hellebroek distribution centre opens.

1972

The first DATS petrol station opens. DATS stands for Discount Automatic Tanking Service.

Jan 1964



The first Discount shops grow out of the Cash & Carry concept, with the lowest prices for consumers.

Jan 1964

Delivering to smaller shops becomes too expensive. From now on, they pick up their own goods from the new Cash & Carry in Halle, a self-service business with wholesale prices.

Nov 1958



Franz Colruyt dies and his son Jo Colruyt takes over the business together with Franz’s brothers. They now deliver to over 800 independent shops.

Jan 1958

The first Super Boni shops open, as attractive self-service supermarkets for consumers.

1953



Loyal shopkeepers receive a billboard. The Boni shops are born.

1950

Etn. Franz Colruyt nv is founded, a food wholesaler.

1937

Franz decides to roast coffee himself and to bottle wine.

1928



Baker’s son Franz Colruyt starts a colonial wholesale goods business (selling things such as coffee, salt and sugar) in Lembeek, to serve grocers in Brussels and the surrounding area.
Mission & Values

Colruyt Group is an umbrella brand comprising of a vast number of companies ranging from food and non-food products and services. All of these brands share a common identity, which translates into one mission statement and nine values in which all store formulas, brands, and services can recognize themselves.

Our Mission:

"Together, we create sustainable added value through value-driven craftsmanship in retail"

Together : We value all our employees, customers, suppliers, manufacturers, shareholders, etc.

Sustainable : Sustainable entrepreneurship is in our DNA. We use a minimum of raw materials, energy and human effort. That’s how we make the difference, for following generations too.

Added Value : We aim for maximum added value for the economy, people and the environment.

Value-Driven Craftsmanship : We see expertise as more than just executing a job correctly. People who have the necessary Skills, Attitude and Knowledge, emanate professional pride and are inspired by the group values.

Retail : We focus on retail and wholesale




9 Group Values That Live

Each of our core value is linked to a focus point which we want to draw attention to in practice.

Respect : Everyone is equal. Each individual can be themselves and develop further.

Togetherness : We encourage cooperation at all levels and we connect with one another as a team.

Simplicity : Our employees keep things as simple as possible. We work quickly, (cost-) efficiently and avoid doing the same job twice.

Readiness to Serve : Helping is one of our qualities. We are committed to serving our customers and colleagues.

Faith : We believe in one another. Mutual trust gives people positive energy.

Hope : We all hope that we will succeed in everything we undertake. Our employees get the resources they need to deliver good work.

Space : We consciously give and take the time to pause in our work and, together, look at what we’re doing.

Courage : We encourage entrepreneurship. Everyone gets the opportunity to take initiatives.

Strength : Employees who can fully develop their potential get fulfilment from their jobs, and this leads to job satisfaction.

Colruyt India

In the year 2007, Colruyt Group established its IT Engineering Center in Hyderabad and has a strength of more than 450 coworkers currently. Colruyt India is an engineering arm of Colruyt Group specialized in multiple facets of IT such as Consult, Build, Innovate and Operate backed by strong engineering & QA practices. The focus on capability development and skilled workforce has helped us add value to the goals of Colruyt Group. The importance towards learning, work life balance and values, have been instrumental in creating a conducive work environment at Colruyt India.

CISR

As an organization, we are committed towards community development and improvement of the quality of life in the society we live in. Colruyt Group lays great emphasis on sustainable and responsible entrepreneurship and is driven by three important principles: People Empowerment, Environment Sustainability and Product Consciousness. The Corporate Social Responsibility team, which is known as Colruyt India Social Responsibility (CISR), operates with the support of enthusiastic volunteers who play an active role in all the sustainability initiatives organized towards fulfilling our organizational commitment.

We have collaborated with various charitable organizations dedicated to provide education and upliftment of children deprived of fundamental opportunities or people who are differently abled. We work together with Ashray Akruti – an NGO that works for the hearing-impaired children, Sankalp Foundation – an NGO that supports daily needs and education of several orphan children, Nayi Disha Foundation – a support group to help people with intellectual and developmental disability.

Few years ago, we launched the National Digital Literacy Mission center in partnership with NASSCOM Foundation to provide digital literacy to more than 2000 students. This is an ongoing project and year on year, we engage with our Partners to provide means to support these students in their journey of digital education and empowerment. Apart from the larger projects, we also organize blood donation drives, plantation drives, excursions with children from orphanages and many more as a part of our annual CISR calendar.