when it opened its Manhattan Express store, Carrefour created a new concept, one which involved dividing up its sales area according to the times during the day when foods are consumed, and which featured a wider range of fresh and healthy products (fruit, vegetables, organic products) and a huge selection of essentials for last-minute purchase, as well as a set of specific items depending on the type of store. Today, the concept has won over Maximilien Willems, who has decided to launch himself into the unknown by opening up a store on the grounds of the Saint-Luc University Hospital (Woluwe Saint-Lambert). An Express store that targets the many customers who are simply passing through, staff working at the hospital and students studying on the campus.Express formula
The term “Express” on its own conveys the whole ethos behind the convenience store concept. The whole store has been designed so that customers can shop as quickly as possible, in a pleasant and modern environment.
Bespoke offering
Designed to cater to the specific requirements that customers at such a location will have, the Saint-Luc express has an extremely full product assortment. Fresh meal solutions (that can be eaten immediately, reheated or put together) any time of the day. And because customers have no time to lose, express ideas to cater to all tastes. Fresh fruit and vegetables, organic products, bread and pastries that are cooked on-site, cheeses and other dairy products, meat, poultry and fresh fish and much, much more. Everything customers need to create a varied and well-balanced meal.
And for visitors who are looking for a little gift for a patient in hospital, there is a particularly well-selected range of treats available.
Forgotten something? A huge range of staple products, together with all the "essential" grocery and pharmacy products are also available – everything customers might need to do their shopping or pick up any items they may have forgotten – no matter what their tastes or needs are when they come out of lectures, leave work or after a visit to a loved one. Furthermore, with fresh products at nice round prices (€2 or €3) and Carrefour products that provide excellent value for money, customers can be sure of being able to keep to within their budget.
A well laid-out store
The Saint-Luc express has a sales area of 134 sq.m, all intelligently laid out. There is even a fresh fruit juice press. It's easy to get around the store, so customers can make very quick shopping trips. It also sells mobile phone top-up cards, iTunes vouchers and STIB/DE LIJN travel cards. There's even a refrigerator which always contains chilled champagne for celebrating a birth or a promotion! Standard payment and credit cards are accepted (Maestro, Bancontact, MC, Visa), as well as luncheon vouchers (paper and electronic format), and to ensure a truly express service, the Saint-Luc dispose store has two check-outs.
The store is well-served by public transport (bus routes and the Alma metro station).
Creating jobs
The opening of the Saint-Luc express store has generated one part-time and four full-time jobs for people who will be helping Maximilien Willems.
Public holidays too
Another major advantage of this new store is the long opening hours that have been designed to fit in with the way the hospital works:
- 7 AM to 8 PM during the week
- from 8 AM on weekends and public holidays
Another area in which Carrefour express fits in with local needs. Its customers know that they can rely on their Carrefour express during the week, in the evenings, at weekends and on public holidays to help them out with a meal or a snack or any last-minute purchases.
