The East Brabant village of Reek turned out this morning for the opening of a supermarket. The inhabitants went in dancing in a colorful procession, preceded by the harmony that We have never had such a good one played. It is the first time in six years that there is a store in Reek again.
“I can clean up my vegetable garden”, says a very happy man to Broadcasting Brabant. “The range there is so large.”
The arrival of the supermarket in Reek has a long history. The village with more than 1900 inhabitants had not had a shop for some time when Aldi came up with the plan to build a branch about four years ago. That was good news for residents. But the owners of supermarkets in the surrounding villages of Schaijk and Zeeland objected.
At one point, the judge stopped the construction of the new store. The residents of Reek did not give up and started a boycott campaign against the supermarkets in the neighboring villages. They also called on the municipality to intervene.
Lawsuits withdrawn
Ultimately, a compromise was reached. The lawsuits have been dropped. Aldi is allowed to come for a trial period of five years. It will then be examined whether the consequences for other entrepreneurs in the municipality are acceptable. If the experiment is successful, there will be a permanent location a few hundred meters from the temporary store.
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