Dutch regional supermarket chain Jan Linders is preparing to open its first stores rebranded under the Albert Heijn banner.
On 29 August, the first converted store will open in Venlo, while the company expects to complete all store conversions by the end of 2023.
The rebranding follows a partnership between the companies, announced last December, that will see Jan Linders continuing its activities as a franchisee of the supermarket giant.
Despite joining forces with Albert Heijn, the family-run business said it would continue to focus on providing a personal service and retaining its regional roots.
The deal will see Jan Linders convert most of its 63 stores in the provinces of Limburg, North Brabant, and Gelderland into Albert Heijn supermarkets, while all employees stay on.
Eleven Jan Linders supermarkets are not part of the new franchise organisation, and new owners (including Jumbo, Plus, and Aldi) have already been found for ten of them.
Moreover, Jan Linders is adding 10 existing Albert Heijn supermarkets in the south of the Netherlands to its franchise network.
The stores are located in Beuningen; Brunssum; ’s Hertogenbosch; Maastricht; Nijmegen; Rosmalen (two stores); Sittard; Tegelen; and Tilburg.
Market Concentration
The winding down of the Jan Linders brand is the latest in a series of M&A operations that have seen local and regional supermarkets in the Netherlands snapped up by large national chains.
A few weeks ago, family-owned supermarket chains Nettorama and Boni announced they would merge under the name Nettorama.
Nettorama operates 32 stores, mainly in North Brabant, South Holland, and Overijssel, while Boni has 51 stores in Flevoland, South Holland, Drenthe, North Brabant, and South Holland.
Other supermarket chains, such as Edah, Konmar, Super de Boer, C1000, Deen, and Emté, have disappeared from the market in recent years.
Data from research firm NielsenIQ shows that Albert Heijn is the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands with a 36.5% market share, followed by Jumbo with 21.2%.
