International News - Delhaize launches value range to rival Carrefour

Belgian food retailer Delhaize has introduced a value European own-label, following Carrefour's brand No 1 debut last year.

Delhaize launched 365 last week at several Belgian shops, and will take it to Greece, the Czech Republic and Romania over the next few months.

There will be common European packaging in eight languages to keep production costs low.

The 365 brand will replace Delhaize's existing value label, Derby. The retailer will also axe value products from branded manufacturers to spotlight 365.

Delhaize said: 'This will bring more clarity to our shelves and simplify shopping for our customers.'

Prices of many 365 lines will match those of hard discounters, such as Aldi and Lidl.

However, Delhaize admitted that some higher quality products will have a higher price tag.

Initially, 365 will comprise 60 products, and be extended to 300 by the end of November.

Carrefour rolled out No 1 internationally last year, in an effort to be up to 5 per cent cheaper than the hard discounters. Sales of the brand have been strong, but have hit Carrefour's average basket spend in its French home market.

One pan-European food analyst said: 'The big European retailers have been trying to milk profits in the past few years, and have let prices go too high. The discounters have come in and shaken it up. It is a trend that is not going to go away and is forcing the likes of Carrefour and Delhaize to be more competitive.'