Retailer / private label
UnclaimedGB was a Belgian supermarket and hypermarket brand that became part of Carrefour through the 2000 acquisition of the GIB Group.
Last updated August 31, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile yet.
Overview
GB, short for Grand Bazar, was a Belgian supermarket brand and retail network that played an important role in the development of large-format food retail in Belgium and Europe. The first Super GB store opened in 1958. Three years later, the business introduced stores under the Superbazar name in Auderghem, Anderlecht, and Bruges. These outlets were among the earliest hypermarkets opened outside the United States and helped establish the large-format combination of food, household, and general merchandise retail in the European market. The network subsequently operated through several formats. Its principal supermarket format was Super GB, while Super GB Partner and Contact GB served additional supermarket and convenience-oriented roles. Maxi GB was the later name used for the former SuperBazar hypermarkets, following their reorganization in 1985. The brand also developed GB Express convenience stores, beginning with a first location in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe in 1997. In the same year, Super GB Partner and Contact GB were introduced or reorganized as distinct parts of the retail portfolio. The wider GIB retail family also included Bigg’s Continent hypermarkets. GB was owned by the Belgian GIB Group until July 2000, when Carrefour Group acquired GIB. Carrefour subsequently modernized and rebranded the Maxi GB hypermarkets as Carrefour stores, while initially retaining the GB name for many supermarkets. In 2007, Super GB, Super GB Partner, and Contact GB were converted to Carrefour GB, and GB Express locations became Carrefour Express. From 2009 onward, Carrefour GB stores in Belgium were progressively converted to the Carrefour Market format. The transition was effectively completed across the remaining GB network during 2013 and 2014, although some locations were closed or transferred to franchise operators during restructuring. As a result, GB is now a defunct retail brand rather than an active independent chain.
History
GB, also known as Grand Bazar, was a Belgian supermarket chain associated with the GIB Group. Its development followed the expansion of modern self-service food retail and the emergence of larger stores combining grocery shopping with household and general merchandise categories. The first Super GB store opened in 1958, establishing the core supermarket identity that would later be used across much of the chain. In 1961, the company opened three stores under the Superbazar name in Auderghem, Anderlecht, and Bruges. These stores were significant because they represented some of the first hypermarkets in Europe and the first such stores outside the United States. The format offered a substantially broader retail proposition than a conventional supermarket, combining food with non-food merchandise and using a larger selling area. In 1985, the SuperBazar stores were reorganized and renamed Maxi GB, making Maxi GB the principal hypermarket identity within the GB portfolio. The GIB retail group also operated Bigg’s Continent hypermarkets, which were later included in the Carrefour conversion program. The network expanded and diversified its smaller formats in the 1990s. The first GB Express convenience store opened in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe in 1997. That year also saw the creation or formal development of Super GB Partner and Contact GB, giving the group a broader set of store types for different locations and shopping missions. Super GB remained the principal supermarket format, while the partner and contact formats served smaller or differently organized supermarket sites. GB Express targeted more immediate, convenience-led purchases than the larger stores. A decisive change occurred in July 2000, when Carrefour Group acquired the GIB Group. Carrefour modernized the former Maxi GB hypermarkets and converted them to Carrefour stores, while initially keeping the GB name for many other outlets. In 2007, the remaining principal GB formats were brought more directly into Carrefour’s architecture: Super GB, Super GB Partner, and Contact GB became Carrefour GB, and GB Express became Carrefour Express. This preserved some local continuity while replacing the independent GB identity with Carrefour’s international brand system. From 2009, Carrefour began converting Carrefour GB stores into Carrefour Market locations in Belgium. The transition continued through roughly 2013 and 2014, by which point the GB name had largely disappeared from active retail operations. The process included closures during a 2010 reorganization and the sale of selected stores in Brussels and Wallonia to an independent franchise operation. Those locations were associated with the Carrefour Market-Groupe Mestdagh network, alongside former Champion stores. By May 2013, 431 GB stores had reportedly already become Carrefour Market stores, while 58 GB supermarkets and 28 Champion stores were still identified separately in the cited account. GB therefore survives primarily as a historical retail brand and as part of the history of Carrefour’s Belgian network, rather than as a current standalone chain.
- 2013
Most GB stores have become Carrefour Market
[1]The majority of the former GB network has been converted to Carrefour Market, with the remaining conversions extending into 2014.
- 2009
Conversion to Carrefour Market begins
[1]Carrefour starts converting Belgian Carrefour GB stores to the Carrefour Market format.
- 2007
GB formats are renamed within Carrefour
[1]Super GB, Super GB Partner, and Contact GB become Carrefour GB, while GB Express becomes Carrefour Express.
- 2001
Maxi GB and Bigg’s Continent become Carrefour stores
[1]The principal hypermarket formats acquired through GIB are converted to Carrefour.
- 2000
Carrefour acquires GIB Group
[1]Carrefour takes over GIB Group and begins integrating the GB store network.
- 1997
GB Express launches
[1]The first GB Express convenience store opens in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe; Super GB Partner and Contact GB are also established or introduced as formats.
- 1985
SuperBazar stores reorganized as Maxi GB
[1]The SuperBazar hypermarket stores are reorganized under the Maxi GB name.
- 1961
First European hypermarkets outside the United States
[1]Superbazar hypermarkets open in Auderghem, Anderlecht, and Bruges, establishing an early European large-format retail model.
- 1958
First Super GB store opens
[1]The first supermarket operating under the Super GB name opens in Belgium.
Products and positioning
A Belgian mass-market food-retail network spanning supermarkets, hypermarkets, and convenience stores, with an emphasis on broad everyday grocery and household assortment.
Supermarket · 1958
Super GB
Super GB was the chain’s principal supermarket format. It supplied everyday groceries, fresh food, packaged food, household products, and selected general merchandise to Belgian consumers. After Carrefour acquired GIB, Super GB locations were initially retained or modernized under the Carrefour GB identity before being progressively converted to Carrefour Market stores.
Hypermarket · 1985
Maxi GB
Maxi GB was the hypermarket format created through the 1985 reorganization of SuperBazar stores. It represented the large-scale end of the GB portfolio, combining food retail with household and general merchandise categories. After the GIB acquisition, Maxi GB stores were converted to Carrefour stores, largely ending the format’s independent identity.
Convenience store · 1997
GB Express
GB Express was the chain’s convenience-oriented format, introduced with a first store in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe in 1997. It focused on smaller stores and immediate shopping needs rather than the broader assortment and larger selling area of the supermarket and hypermarket formats. In 2007, GB Express locations became Carrefour Express stores.
Hypermarket · 1961
SuperBazar
SuperBazar was the name used for the pioneering GB-associated hypermarkets opened in Auderghem, Anderlecht, and Bruges in 1961. These stores were among the first hypermarkets in Europe outside the United States. The SuperBazar stores were later reorganized and renamed Maxi GB.
Supermarket · 1997
Super GB Partner
Super GB Partner was a supermarket format introduced or formalized within the GB network in 1997. It complemented the main Super GB stores and was subsequently converted to Carrefour GB in 2007 before the broader transition to Carrefour Market.
Supermarket · 1997
Contact GB
Contact GB was a smaller or differently organized supermarket format within the GB portfolio. The stores were associated with the Laurus group before becoming part of the Carrefour integration and were renamed Carrefour GB in 2007. They were later subject to Carrefour’s wider Belgian format conversions.
Brand decisions
2010
Network restructuring and selected franchise transfersStrategyBackground
Carrefour undertook a reorganization of its Belgian supermarket estate during the continuing integration of the former GB and Champion networks.
Action taken
Some supermarkets were closed, while selected Brussels and Wallonia locations were sold to an independent franchise operation associated with Carrefour Market-Groupe Mestdagh.
Aftermath
The restructuring accelerated the reduction of stores operating under legacy GB branding.
2009
Conversion of Carrefour GB stores to Carrefour MarketStrategyBackground
Carrefour continued rationalizing its Belgian store portfolio and sought to use its Carrefour Market supermarket format across the former GB estate.
Action taken
Carrefour began progressively rebranding Carrefour GB stores as Carrefour Market.
Aftermath
The remaining GB identity was largely eliminated by 2013–2014, with some stores closed and others transferred to franchise operations.
2007
Integration of GB formats into Carrefour brandingStrategyBackground
After several years of ownership by Carrefour, the GB supermarket and convenience formats were brought under Carrefour’s customer-facing brand architecture.
Action taken
Super GB, Super GB Partner, and Contact GB became Carrefour GB, while GB Express became Carrefour Express.
Aftermath
The change reduced the independent visibility of GB and prepared the network for subsequent conversion to Carrefour Market and Carrefour Express.
2000
Carrefour acquires GIB GroupM&ABackground
GIB Group owned the GB network and several related Belgian retail formats. Carrefour’s acquisition brought the chain into a larger international retail group.
Action taken
Carrefour took ownership of GIB and began modernizing and integrating the GB stores into its own operating and brand system.
Aftermath
Maxi GB and Bigg’s Continent hypermarkets were converted to Carrefour, while other GB formats were temporarily retained before later rebranding.
Sources1 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/gb · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled