French grocery giant Carrefour is offering a price-match deal at two of its Belgian stores in a bid to compete with discounter Albert Heijn.

The retailer has pledged to pay shoppers five times the difference if they can find the same products cheaper in the discounter’s local stores.

Carrefour has said that the initiative, which is being heavily advertised in stores, is only being offered in the two Belgian stores at present, although there is speculation that it could be extended.

The initiative follows a strong performance by Albert Heijn throughout Belgium, thanks in part to its nimble supply chain model which involves sourcing supplies from warehouses in the Netherlands.

The chain is owned by Dutch parent company Ahold, which operates several retail brands throughout Europe and has more than 3,100 stores.

A number of major retailers in Belgium and the Netherlands have been forced to reduce prices to compete with the discounter.

Albert Heijn operates more than 850 stores in the Netherlands and 20 in Belgium. It plans store openings in both of those markets and in Germany, which it entered for the first time in 2014.

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