Colruyt's strategy to exit the French market is entering its final phase. After the recent divestments of a significant portion of its network to Les Mousquetaires, Carrefour, and Coopérative U, the Belgian group is preparing to close the five stores that remain without a buyer. These are the stores in Carling, Faulquemont, Masevaux-Niederbruck, Montchanin, and Sens-Kennedy. According to sources familiar with the matter, employees have already been informed, although no official closure date has been announced. The closure could be around February 2026, pending validation of the PSE by the Bourgogne–Franche-Comté Regional Administration.
These stores represent the most critical part of Colruyt's portfolio in France: weak Chalandise areas, significant investment needs, and a difficult level of local competition. This combination of factors has discouraged potential buyers, in a context where recovery efforts require rapid economic and social realignment. A similar fate could also befall the French logistics platforms of Dole-Choisey and Rochefort-sur-Nenon, whose future remains uncertain.
The situation is very different for the stores that have found a buyer. Three stores in Bas-Rhin (Gries, Herrlisheim, and Drusenheim) will be transferred to Carrefour, while two supermarkets located in Vosges and Haute-Marne (Chalindrey and Saulxures-sur-Moselotte) will join the Coopérative U network, likely converting to U Express or Super U. These transactions have allowed part of the network to be preserved, but have not affected the five most complex units.
The closure of the remaining stores concludes a process that began over twenty years ago with the launch of the "Prix-Qualité" format and continued with several repositioning attempts. In a market where creating new retail space is increasingly difficult and costly, Colruyt has thus chosen to preserve transferable assets and permanently withdraw from underperforming areas. Of the French subsidiary's initial 105 stores, only five failed to find a buyer, marking the end of the group's presence in France.
