It demonstrates how the political dossier of the Padlock was interlinked with a much broader societal debate, that of the survival of the independent classes moyennes/middenstand. It tries to answer the question as to why the public debate on retailing in Belgium was caught in a deadlock and, specifically, why prohibitive measures against big distribution remained intact for such a long period. This article outlines the history of this so-called Padlock Law (Loi de Cadenas/Grendelwet), and evaluates its effectiveness and impact. In that context literature usually points to the Belgian law of 1936/1937 restricting the expansion of department stores. Hypermarkets are therefore an American invention, GB opened the first European hypermarkets in Belgium and Carrefour spread the model of the hypermarket throughout the world, taking over most of the Belgian hypermarkets in 2000.ĭuring the inter-war and post-war decades, until the dawn of the 1960s, the Belgian retail sector remained very traditional and overcrowded. Even if the association of food and non food products under the same roof was unusual in the United States, it nevertheless existed. If we do not consider the Bruges location of only 3 300 m², which was initially designed as a department store, the point of sale in Auderghem (9 100 m² Boulevard du Souverain), based on the American model of the discount department store but associated with an integrated supermarket, must be considered as the first European hypermarket. Through an examination of the literature, an exploration of GIB archives and the stories of stakeholders in the Belgian distribution sector, the article compares in detail the history of the first Belgian and French hypermarkets, which has never been done before. But nearly two years earlier, in 1961, GB had opened three hypermarkets under the name of SuperBazar, in Bruges, Auderghem and Anderlecht, measuring between 3 300 and 9 100 m².
They are generally considered to have been invented in France in 1963 (Carrefour in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, close to Paris, 2 500 m²). Hypermarkets are self-service shops with a surface area of more than 2 500 m², which sell food and non food products, are located on the outskirts of a city, are easily accessible and have a large car park. To guarantee a durable balance between big and small a legal framework on retail establishment was introduced. In the early 1970s, however, Belgium witnessed a remarkable upsurge of shopkeeper protest, in part triggered by the concentration of big distribution and the growing impact of its hypermarkets. At first, this policy seemed to offer viable perspectives. It also fostered the growth of a so-called ‘independent associated retail sector’ through franchising and other cooperative networks.
Rendement locatif belgique professional#
In the 1960s government enabled the further expansion of big distribution but also tried to mitigate the transition by stimulating the modernisation of independent retail through consultancy and professional training. Forging a compromise policy on the modernisation of retail proved to be quite a challenge. Family-based shopkeeping was deeply rooted in Belgium's predominantly Catholic societal culture. Their leading role can be connected to the involvement of their managers in transfer of retail expertise from the US to Western Europe, clearly preceding governmental efforts to increase retail productivity by promoting the American model. The main locomotives were the country’s four major distribution chains. Compared to other European countries, this happened quite late.
This article evaluates how self-service shopping and the supermarket format were introduced in post-war Belgium.