How program management is key in the largest acquisition in Colruyt Group's history
Lucifer - Colruyt Group
Challenge
In September 2023, Colruyt Group struck a landmark deal with Louis Delhaize to acquire 57 Match and Smatch stores across Belgium. After review by the Belgian Competition Authority, 54 of those stores were approved for acquisition. To ensure a smooth and rapid execution of this strategic program called Lucifer, Colruyt Group collaborated with Myreas, focusing on enterprise architecture and program management.
“At eight weeks, an average of five stores per week opened under their new (temporary) flag.”
Strategy
While in other strategic programs within Colruyt Group there is a clear structure to translate a strategic framework into tactical objectives, in this case other choices had to be made in the context of an acquisition process.
By March 2024, the first stores began converting to the temporary Comarkt and Comarché formats, a transitional solution Colruyt Group has long used. Over an intense 8-week period, 39 stores were revamped. This marked the first time these brands appeared on Belgian streets at such a scale, making it the largest acquisition in Colruyt Group’s history.
Each week, the conversions involved deep cleaning, setting up new IT systems, installing Colruyt software at registers to accept Xtra cards, updating infrastructure, stocking shelves with new products (including Colruyt’s own brands), and applying fresh price labels. The store facades were rebranded, and employees trained on the new systems. This large-scale project required seamless coordination across departments like HR, Supply Chain, IT, Technics, and Marketing, with hundreds of Colruyt employees working together to pull it off.
39
stores
8
weeks
955
new colleagues
Outcome
Colruyt Group, as a people-first employer, ensured a warm welcome for 955 new colleagues, creating a dedicated onboarding team. Christophe Dehandschutter, general manager of OKay, led the acquisition as program owner, assembling a core team to oversee operations.
Key players from Myreas included the enterprise business architect, who structured the project’s complexity by defining work packages and aligning teams, ensuring smooth end-to-end processes. The program manager was essential for coordinating the overall timeline, maintaining the tight conversion schedule, and steering the business case to success.
After just 8 weeks, all stores were successfully converted to CoMarkt, and new staff had completed their onboarding. But the journey doesn’t end there—next up, each location will be transformed into its final “enseigne”.