Delhaize losing ground at home

Food retailer Delhaize has been having a strong performance in the US. However, at home, Belgium is proving tough due to heavy competition with Colruyt and Carrefour, as well as the hard discounters.

Delhaize claims to have positioned its 365 private label line to be as price competitive as Aldi and Lidl in order to win back custom, and it is this price cutting strategy, in addition to heavy competition and a poor summer, which is impacting the retailer's business performance.

Elsewhere, however, in its emerging markets of Greece, Romania and Indonesia, the company continues to perform well, recording double digit growth in Q3 figures. In the US, which provides the greatest share of the company's sales, Delhaize's strongest brand is Food Lion, with more than 1,200 stores offering a SKU count of 20,000 lines. However, while growth in the US has been strong, the group is suffering from the impact of the weaker dollar.