Retail trade
In NACE division 47, 9.2 companies per 100 started in the past twelve months, against 7.5 nationally; that is higher than that of 66% of the 87 NACE divisions. Comparison: as of 29-09-2026 05:30.
Key figures for NACE division 47
fiscal year 2025 · median over 33,379 filed annual accountsForeign control in NACE division 47
61,077 registered companiesStaff cost per FTE in NACE division 47
3,224 employers of at least 10 FTE| Size | Median | Middle half | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 to 49 FTE | €46,300 | €38,400 to €60,900 | 2,833 |
| 50 to 249 FTE | €57,600 | €44,500 to €71,800 | 316 |
| 250 FTE or more | €55,800 | €47,600 to €67,200 | 75 |
Best-paying employers in this division All sectors by staff cost In the Analysis workbench
Bankruptcies
past five yearsNationally, 1.61% of current registrations have a published bankruptcy opening in the past five years. This sector's historical share is higher than that of 59% of the 88 NACE divisions. The median bankruptcy probability in NACE division 47 is 0.8%, against 0.5% nationally, over 57,477 scored companies. Comparison: as of 29-09-2026 05:30.
Bankruptcies still running
NACE division 47Measured nationally: Of 64,419 bankruptcies of legal entities across Belgium, 46% were closed within five years for insufficient assets and 32% after liquidation, 4% were withdrawn; 18% were still open after five years. Half had ended after 26 months (a quarter after 15, three quarters after 49 months).
Counts companies with this main activity in the register on 29 September 2026. The outcome itself is not measured by sector: the activity of a company that leaves the register after its bankruptcy is too often not kept to compare closed cases fairly.
Regional split
by region · 2,203 of 2,789 enterprises with a registered office on fileRecent bankruptcies in this sector
8| Date | Company |
|---|---|
| 28-09-2026 | L'entreprise
BE 0825.056.561 |
| 18-08-2026 | HAIR & BEAUTY FACTORY
BE 0467.240.387 |
| 12-06-2026 | ORTHO EROS
BE 1014.278.817 |
| 01-06-2026 | OPTIC SERET
BE 1010.015.765 |
| 21-05-2026 | OPTIEK BOUDRY
BE 0680.938.020 |
| 15-04-2026 | OptiHealth Care
BE 0635.497.082 |
| 15-04-2026 | Medusa Care
BE 0665.627.658 |
| 18-03-2026 | Vita Lifestyle
BE 0733.896.753 |
Geographic distribution
by province · based on the establishment addressWhere does this sector's wealth sit? By municipality, down to the street
Public money in this sector
per register · legal entities with an enterprise number- Flemish subsidies €417.2m awarded
- Federal transfers 49.7m amount as published
- Wallonia-Brussels Federation €37.6m paid
- EU budget €76.7m attributed share
- EU research €8.5m eu contribution
How these figures are counted
Current enterprise registrations are counted through their registered main activities; establishment units are excluded. Counted in the KBO's NACE 2025 nomenclature, the one in which code 4774 exists.
Share of currently registered companies with a published bankruptcy opening in the past five years. Registered main activities in the selected classification can overlap. This retrospective share is not a future bankruptcy probability.
The comparison with the country and with the other NACE divisions comes from a nightly overview of every division, each counted in the nomenclature in which it exists. A standing such as "higher than 80%" counts the other divisions that have the figure. The bankruptcy probability is the median of our nightly score over the division's companies that have one; the count is stated.
The key figures cover the whole NACE division 47, not NACE 4774 on its own: there are too few filed annual accounts per five-digit code to compute them separately. The middle company of the sector, based on all filed annual accounts.