Dutch retailers Jumbo and HEMA have announced details of their 'commercial cooperation' agreement in the Netherlands and Belgium, which both groups believe will help 'strengthen each others activities'.
“It is great that two strong Dutch brands are going to reinforce each other in this way," commented Ton van Even, Jumbo's chief financial officer. "This offers good prospects for both of us to expand our store network."
Lease Contracts
As part of the agreement, Jumbo is to take over the lease contracts at 17 HEMA store locations, largely in city centres, while Jumbo and HEMA will develop a 'joint store concept' at six train station locations, with Jumbo providing the food range at these stores.
The transfer of the HEMA store leases to Jumbo will take place in phases over the next three years, Jumbo said in a statement, with HEMA committing to ensuring that it has upgraded each store to its latest store formula ahead of each lease transfer.
With each transferred lease, Jumbo will pay a set amount to HEMA, which will be use to reduce the latter's debt. No job losses are expected as a result of the lease transfer, with Jumbo noting that it expects 'to create more employment' as a result of the move.
Increased Assortment
In addition, all Jumbo supermarkets in the Netherlands and Belgium have committed to rolling out a number of HEMA SKUs into their stores, on a 'step by step' basis.
HEMA products that are expected to go on sale in Jumbo stores over the next year and a half include cookware, tablecloths, tea towels, glasses, festive and seasonal items and candles, with the range also being made available through Jumbo.com.
' The agreement fits HEMA's strategy to grow into a global brand and Jumbo's strategy to ensure that customers can go to Jumbo for all their groceries,' Jumbo said in a statement.
Sports Sponsorship
In addition, the cooperation agreement will see HEMA pledge co-sponsorship of the Team Jumbo-Visma cycling and skating teams for a period of at least four years. Team Jumbo-Visma will at the same time seek to promote the HEMA brand name internationally.
To mark the sponsorship, the 2020 Team Jumbo-Visma cycling team will be presented this Friday (20 December) at the HEMA Support Office in Amsterdam.
Commenting on the cooperation agreement, Tjeerd Jegen, HEMA CEO, said, “Today we are taking important steps for the future of HEMA, our customers and colleagues.
"Our typically Dutch brands fit well together and there is a clear click between HEMA and Jumbo. The possibilities of our cooperation are endless, from combination stores to selling HEMA articles via the Jumbo stores."
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
