Colruyt Professionals will open a new store on September 16th at the former Makro site in Deurne, just outside Antwerp. It will be the network's ninth store and the third in Flanders.
The choice of location is particularly significant. The building has been vacant since the end of 2022, when Makro went bankrupt, and has long been at the center of a planning dispute over its future use.
In 2025, the city of Antwerp blocked a commercial project that included the arrival of Euro Shop, Albert Heijn, and Jysk, deeming it incompatible with existing urban planning regulations. The case was then passed to the province, partly because the site lies between Deurne and Wijnegem.
Colruyt, which owns the complex together with LCV Real Estate, has found a different solution. The area already has a permit for large-scale wholesale trade, allowing Colruyt Professionals to open without waiting for the new urban planning scheme.
The format is aimed exclusively at professional customers: HORECA operators, VAT-registered associations, nightclub managers, and other retailers. It's a self-service cash & carry, fully consistent with the site's wholesale purpose.
The opening of Deurne also brings Colruyt closer to its stated goal of approximately ten Professionals stores. The network was built selectively and remains limited compared to the group's other formats.
The interesting fact is precisely this: while the commercial future of the former Makro remains suspended, Colruyt has managed to bring activity back to the site using a brand compatible with the existing constraints.
