Jumbo puts an end to the collaboration with two major international purchasing organizations: Everest and Epic Partners. The companies negotiated on behalf of the Veghel supermarket chain about the purchase prices of A-brands. But the international purchasing companies regularly clashed with suppliers, so that Jumbo stores were plagued by empty shelves, including coffee and tea.
In 2023, Jumbo joined the two international purchasing organizations. On behalf of several European supermarket chains, they would conduct negotiations with A-brand producers, so that the products in the supermarket would be cheaper.
Empty shelves
In practice, however, that did not always go smoothly. Earlier this year there was a lot of fuss about the purchase of premium brands. The shelves with Douwe Egbertskoffie and Pickwick remained empty, and also Heineken, Amstel and Texels beer, among other things, could not always be found in Veghel’s shops due to a substantial beer argument with buyer Everest.
With the beer it even ended on a lawsuit, almost unique in a prize war. Jumbo ordered less than agreed with the Heineken group, on which the beer brewer took legal steps. In the end, further escalation in the beer fight was averted.
Direct cooperation
Yet Jumbo does not only look back negatively on the collaboration. According to CEO Tom Heidman, the collaboration has contributed to an ‘affordable, spacious and relevant’ range. But: “Our course requires more direct cooperation with suppliers.”
During the presentation of the annual figures 2024 in January, Jumbo was still enthusiastic about purchasing policy. By switching to international purchasing companies, the chain managed to reduce the costs with no less than 50 million euros. “That adjustment caused empty shelves, but if we hadn’t done that, our future was at stake,” the supermarket said at the time.
Yet Jumbo is now stopping the collaboration with international buyers. The chain will continue to collaborate with the German supermarket chain Edeka for the purchase of international A-brands. Jumbo also continues to collaborate with Everest-Fresh, the branch of Everest that focuses on potatoes, fruit and vegetables.