Edah, Konmar, Super de Boer, C1000, Emté: the list of supermarket chains that have disappeared from the streets since 2000 is getting longer and longer. A new name will be added this weekend: the Deen chain, which was originally from North Holland. And if we are to believe the experts, the ‘reorganization in supermarket land’ is not over yet.
Family business Deen was founded in 1933 in Hoorn as a grocery store. Until recently, the chain had 80 stores, achieved a turnover of 800 million euros in 2019 and had a market share of roughly two percent. A centenary is nowhere near in sight. The curtain falls after 88 years. The last Dane closes this weekend, in Heemskerk. The stores will be converted into an AH, a Vomar or a DekaMarkt.
Sell ’reluctantly’
The family announced the sale earlier this year, according to insiders with fresh reluctance. But the company had to invest a lot of money to compete with competitors online, for example, and the distribution centers had to be modernized. That would cost millions and the family was not interested in that.
This left only one option open: to sell. Or according to director Leendert van Eck, who has been leading the chain since 2016: “It was a difficult but logical step. Substantial financial efforts were necessary, but the family has made a different choice.”
Deen does not want to participate in a NOS story about the end of the chain. “Fons Deen (general director) has always been very closed to the press,” says Peter Garstenveld, editor-in-chief of the trade magazine Distrifood. “Closing the family business, although understandable given the relatively small scale compared to the investments in the coming years, is not an achievement that makes you happy.”
Almost guilty
According to Jacqueline Twerda of CNV Vakmensen, the Deen family almost felt guilty towards the employees. That is why all staff members receive a bonus. “We promise a gross bonus over the hours worked during the last six months, for everyone who continues to work for us until the end. The maximum gross bonus amount to be paid is 2500 euros”, according to a press release from the company.
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