The plastic shutters at the entrance and exit to the refrigerated area of Colruyt stores had gradually been removed by education as its stores were renovated. The reason given? “Customers didn’t like them.” Instead, Colruyt had installed an air curtain.
Yes, but now, the energy crisis is affecting the whole of Belgium and plastic shutters are making a comeback in the chain’s 249 stores. Rest assured, this is only a temporary return. Sixty stores have already (re)installed them, the others will follow. “It’s less pleasant, but it’s for a good cause,” says Hanne Poppe, spokesperson for Colruyt. Colruy. This will allow the group to save 2.3 million euros on its energy bill on an annual basis, according to its own calculations.
The sign had not thrown away all the shutters to be able to reuse them from time to time, for example in the event of a heat wave. Colruyt claims that saving energy is already in the group’s DNA and that its stores were generally already very energy efficient. Still, the company was looking for additional savings. The shutters are an intervention, but Colruyt has also changed the lighting, for example.