Jumbo will stop sponsoring Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen after this season, after they also announced their departure from the Dutch cycling and skating team. But what consequences does this have? What will you notice as a customer and what have these sponsorship deals yielded for the supermarket giant from Veghel? We asked a number of experts.
Supermarket expert Peter ter Hark and Hugo Gruijters, sports marketing teacher at Fontys’ SPECO courses, are speaking.
What is the main reason for Jumbo to stop doing this?
Gruijters: “It has to do with the arrival of a new director, but also with the pressure from outside after the money laundering investigation into Frits van Eerd. Jumbo wants to become the old Jumbo again, a price fighter. The price difference between Jumbo and Albert Heijn is no longer so great, customer satisfaction is declining. These kinds of exclusive sponsorship deals do not suit a price fighter. They want to go back to ‘just act normal, then you’re acting crazy enough’.”
What have those sponsorship deals delivered to Jumbo in concrete terms?
Gruijters: “These sponsorship deals have made Jumbo as a small family business what it is today: they are the second largest supermarket in the Netherlands. Only Albert Heijn is bigger. With this sponsorship you come into the picture very often. It gives you a lot of brand awareness and also sympathy among sports enthusiasts.”
According to supermarket expert Ter Hark, Jumbo has also benefited a lot. “But at a certain point that effect is no longer there and they no longer need it. The brand awareness is there and this is a good time to stop, especially since they have been in the news negatively about it lately.”
Will Jumbo also lose something? “No, they have already taken the loss. They have had a lot of negative publicity and they have to overcome that blow.”
What effect will it have on the sport?
According to experts, this is an amount of 20 million euros per year. Gruijters: “That is a really large amount by Dutch standards. Jumbo is in the top three of the largest sponsors in the Netherlands, so it is a great loss for the sport. You need money to take sport to the next level, to make teams better.”
According to him, there are always companies that want to get back in, because sports sponsorship is still a very good way to invest in as a company. “They are queuing for Max, I’m not afraid of that. It’s a bigger challenge for the skating and cycling team.”
As a supermarket customer, what will I notice if Jumbo stops sponsoring?
Practically speaking, you will no longer see a life-sized Max Verstappen in your local Jumbo branch and the savings campaigns for a miniature racing car are also over. But whether customers will notice anything else, the experts do not expect.
Ter Hark: “It makes little difference to customers. The fact that they stop is really about improving the image of Jumbo.” According to him, the fact that Jumbo will spend such a gigantic amount of 20 million differently will unfortunately not translate into lower prices.
Does that 20 million now benefit local initiatives?
Jumbo intends to support local initiatives from associations from now on. With the amount of 20 million euros, they can mean a lot locally. Jumbo has not announced what they are planning exactly. “With that amount they can lend a hand to all sports associations in the Netherlands,” Gruijters laughs.
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