Colruyt family

The Colruyts own a Belgian food distribution business, numerous retail chains and brands operating in Belgium, France and Luxembourg through their Colruyt Group of companies.
In 1928, Franz Colruyt, the son of a baker, started a wholesale goods business to serve grocers in Brussels and the surrounding area. He began roasting his own coffee and bottling his own wine, contributing to the family’s thriving food wholesale business after the Second World War. After Franz’s death in 1958, his son, Jo Colruyt, took over the business along with his father’s brothers, Henri and Jules. Jo would go on to adopt the company’s “low price” strategy that helped drive expansion through discount locations during the latter part of the 20th century.
After Jo’s passing in 1994, his son, Jef Colruyt, took over the family business and continued its expansion into other industries and countries. Jef’s cousin, Frans Colruyt, shares leadership roles in the family group, which includes over 1,150 owned and affiliated stores. The family is one of the wealthiest in Belgium, with an estimated net worth of $4 billion.