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Renovated OKay Blaasveld reopens on 9 October as a sustainable local supermarket
6
October
2020
On Friday 9 October OKay Blaasveld opens its doors again after one month of alteration work. The store, which dates from 2008, was renovated in the style of the OKay local supermarkets of the latest generation, with a revamped freshmart, extra chiller cabinets, a new bread corner and freezers with glass lids. OKay Blaasveld no longer uses fossil fuels. Store manager Vanessa Cools and her 14 co-workers welcome their customers as from Friday with respect for the corona measures in force.
Focus on fresh products and daily fresh bread
The fresh and modern lay-out allows OKay Blaasveld to serve its customers even better and to play its ultra-fresh products better. "In the revamped freshmart for instance, our broad supply of fresh fruit and vegetables can stand out completely', says store manager Vanessa Cools. "Outside the freshmart, we added extra chiller cabinets so that the tapas strike the eye even more. We receive bread deliveries every day and our store co-workers bake off high-quality buns. Customers can find them in our new bread corner."
The frozen products department has also been completely revamped. Vanessa Cools: "We installed freezers with glass covers so our customers can easily find their favourite products."
OKay Blaasveld also has a spacious bicycle parking area. It also accommodates carrier cycles to make shopping by bike easier.
Minimum environmental impact
Like the other Colruyt Group Store formats, it is very important to OKay to build sustainably with a minimum ecological footprint. Consequently, it uses as many sustainable techniques and renewable materials as possible in the newest-generation stores. “In OKay Blaasveld we do not use fossil fuels”, says Vanessa Cools. "The refrigeration system works on propane, a natural coolant that is much environment-friendlier than chemical coolants. This reduces CO2 emission by 90% compared to a classic cooling system. And we recover the heat released by this system. Moreover, we generate our own energy by means of solar panels and the LED lighting consumes 30 % less energy."
And that's not all: the store's outside was painted with sustainable paint that converts hazardous substances such as nitrogen dioxides and ozone into nitrate and oxygen under the influence of sunlight. The rain dissolves and washes away the nitrates.
Child of the soil
"Through the years, we have gained loyal customers who value our broad range of products, our friendly co-workers and the lowest prices in the neighbourhood. My 14 co-workers, all living in the area around Blaasveld, and I want to continue on this line in our renovated store ”, the store manager continues.
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About OKay
OKay is Colruyt Group’s local supermarket format. Customers can find everything they need there. OKay stores are set up near town or city centres and guarantee the lowest prices in the neighbourhood. OKay opened its very first store on 14 January 1998 in Ertvelde and has since then been opening an average of 6 new stores every year. They intend to keep up this frequency in the years to come. Today, OKay has about 130 stores in Belgium. Since November 2015, the chain also has its own distribution centre at the industrial estate of Lot (Beersel) in Flemish Brabant. OKay currently employs more than 2,200 co-workers.