Origin’O: 14th store in Brussels

Every day, 100,000 people stream through the railway station Gare du Midi in the Belgian capital. At one of the main exits on the east side, scarcely 30 metres from the escalator to the Metro, is the latest offspring of the versatile Origin’O family. The Belgian organic chain that was hitherto found only in Flanders and Brussels – not in French-speaking Wallonia – offers an interesting concept: make new out of old. Ageing organic shops can cooperate with the organic chain and, after thorough renovation, they open under a new name and can benefit from joint marketing. (Picture: The new Origin’O store in Brussels-south station)
On 18 July 2011, the day had arrived: José Oyarzabal opened his 150 m² whole food shop at the north-east exit of the station. The 47-year-old retail specialist, who worked previously at Carrefour, followed his wife’s suggestion and became an organic retailer. Since then, not only travellers have the opportunity to buy healthy and organic provisions for their journey – drinks, sandwiches, cookies and snacks head the list of best sellers. Naturally you can buy fruit too such as single bananas and apples or carrots to take on your journey. “Generally speaking, all fresh products sell particularly well here,” explains Chris Vanderstraeten (on the right in the picture with José Oyarzabal), who is responsible for expansion and supporting new shops. He says the number of articles comes to around 3,000.

The rent in a location like this with its high footfall is, of course, especially expensive. So the current 2,000 customers a week need to double if the shop is to be profitable and have a long-term future. The average spend, that is about 6 euros on account of most purchases being provisions for journeys, would rise if the store can attract a regular clientele from the surrounding area.

With the help of four employees, Oyarzabal keeps his shop open seven days a week all year round. Opening times during the week are 7.00 – 19.30 and on Sundays 10.00 – 19.30. By being open every day (84.5 hours a week!), he trumps his colleagues at Origin’O – in their case, the opening hours are between 45 and 68 hours a week.

The flagship store in terms of turnover is the outlet in Leuven, 20 km to the east of Brussels (see our earlier report). Then come the specialist stores in Ghent (220 m²) and in Overijse (350 m²), a suburb in the south of Brussels. Of the 14 whole food stores and organic supermarkets, ten are independent and four are franchises. Six of the stores have retail space of over 200 m². More Origin’O specialist stores are to be launched, although there are currently no concrete plans.

The shop sign on the façade and the large-scale pictures on the walls are the main indication of a common approach by Origin’O specialist stores. Strong shopping bags, that can be bought at the check-outs for 1.25 euros, are printed with various motifs. What about the joint marketing? “We mail newsletters to our customers once a month, and we run brochure campaigns twice a year – in June during the nationwide eco-week and in December. The brochures have a print-run for each campaign of 210, 000,” explains Chris Vanderstraeten. (Picture on right: Customers can ask for their loaves to be sliced)

The public can access a joint internet site of all Origin’O shops for basic information about the company and the addresses of the stores. (Picture on left: Fresh sandwiches to take away)

Tip:
www.origino.be