With 58 stores in Flanders, a newly opened branch in Waterloo and a webshop on top, fashion chain e5 wants to be within a twenty-minute drive of everyone. To make that ambition a reality, and to cautiously cross the language border, e5 combines two perspectives: that of sales, and that of marketing and CRM. Business Analyst Anke Van Malder and CRM Analyst Tine Verschelden explain how that two-person approach, supported by RetailSonar, shapes their location decisions.
One tool, two angles
Before RetailSonar arrived at e5, location data was mostly the domain of marketing and CRM. But the insights turned out to matter just as much to sales and the stores themselves. So e5 decided to have both teams use the platform side by side.
Anke says: "I mainly do the technical side, run the analyses and identify the white spots. Then we discuss everything together, because we each approach it differently." Her numbers-driven view from sales and Tine's broader marketing view have complemented each other ever since.
Testing in Wallonia: the new store in Waterloo
For years, e5 only had stores in Flanders, after an earlier series of Walloon branches closed some five or six years ago. In August, the chain once again opened a store across the language border, in Waterloo. "For us, that's really a test project," says Anke. "Brand awareness and customer behaviour there are very different from Flanders." e5 specifically reached out to former customers of the earlier Walloon stores, including those in Braine-l'Alleud and Wavre, to see to what extent they return and whether willingness to travel is indeed different there than in Flanders.
Buying behaviour, visit frequency, average basket, brand offering and price levels: e5 deliberately looks at it all with an open mind, without assumptions from the past. With RetailSonar, the team is already mapping out the market dynamics and white spots in Wallonia and around Brussels in advance, to determine where further growth across the language border is promising.
From out-of-town stores to city stores & the importance of cannibalisation
e5 has traditionally been known for out-of-town stores with a large car park out front, but is now also testing new location types. In Aalst, the chain opened its first City concept, in a low-traffic pedestrian zone. "That was a big adjustment for our customers, who could no longer just park in front of the store. But we see that it works and that it appeals to a different audience," says Anke. Meanwhile, the second City store has opened in Waterloo.
For new locations, e5 now looks at these kinds of town centres, alongside the retail parks that have gained importance in recent years. Market potential remains the first test, but cannibalisation weighs at least as heavily: the e5 stores are located fairly close to each other. Tine: "Sometimes closing an existing store and reopening in a better location, just a bit further from our other branches, has a positive effect on both profitability and accessibility in the region."
"With RetailSonar, we see exactly what works, so we can apply it to other stores and regions."
Style Stories: experimenting with a flagship concept
Since February 2026, the chain also has five Style Stories, one per Flemish province: larger branches with an extended MyStyle personal shopping corner, monthly events and more external brands than the regular e5 stores. "The idea is to see what works, and apply that to other stores and regions," says Anke. In the longer term, e5 wants to roll out the concept in more places in Flanders.
"Where is there still potential, and where should a relocation or closure be considered?"
Putting the existing network to the test
While e5 expands cautiously, it also keeps scrutinising its existing network. Every season, the team reviews each store, comparing its own internal figures with the RetailSonar benchmarks. That way, e5 maps out where there is still potential, and where a relocation or closure should be considered.
"We sometimes see that a store is doing worse on paper than last year, while RetailSonar indicates that the location is doing very well given the market and competition in the area. And vice versa," says Anke.
"With RetailSonar, we can actively search for white spots and improvements within our store network."
From reactive to proactive
e5 currently uses the platform monthly, mainly on an ad hoc basis: a potential location that comes up, or an occasional question about a possible relocation. "From this season and next year, we want to use it more proactively," says Anke. "Not only driven by requests, but also actively searching for white spots and improvements to our network ourselves."
A partner that thinks along
"What struck us immediately is how user-friendly the platform is," says Tine. Both analysts are also pleased with the collaboration with RetailSonar, especially with how the model was set up and refined together with the team. "At its core, RetailSonar remains a tool for making calculations. That's why it's essential for us to always test the forecasts against hard reality afterwards. That feedback loop and the annual fine-tuning are crucial to keep sharpening the model."
With that combination, of sales and marketing, of expansion and optimisation, of model and practice, e5 continues to build a store network that stays close to its customers. Across the language border too.