Topman Plus: ‘In the supermarket sector you should never think you are safe’

While the photographer grabs her camera, Duncan Hoy quickly arranges the shelf with bananas. He places the ripe, yellow trusses on top, and he tries to hide bananas that are still a bit green. As soon as Hoy notices that the others see this too, he starts laughing. The reader must of course see the most beautiful products in the picture.

The CEO of supermarket chain Plus may not have grown up among foodstuffs, but the grocery mentality has now crept in. Not that he is constantly standing still to rectify products, as was the custom at his previous employer, Tesco. There, immaculate shopfitting was “a kind of obsession,” Hoy says. “There were stories of people passing by and putting billiard balls in the freezer. And when they rolled, you got screwed.”

The cooperative Plus is not organized for it either, says Hoy (48), a Briton who speaks fluent Dutch after almost twenty years in the Netherlands. Of course, everyone is happy with an attractively furnished store, such as the location in IJsselstein where the meeting will take place this morning. But that appeal is more in the products themselves, and less in the fact that they are arranged with military precision. Good, healthy food, with a focus on responsible origin – that’s what customers come to Plus for, according to Hoy.

So if Coop’s regular customers notice something when their store reopens to Plus, it probably is, says Hoy. A wide range of products from its own brand, which Plus has put more effort into than Coop in recent years. And also a ‘maker’, which is already present in many Plus stores, where meals and sandwiches are freshly prepared every day.

Three months ago, Hoy and his colleagues formally began merging the two supermarket chains. When, around the turn of the year, first regulator ACM and later the members’ councils agreed, they could finally really get started. The plans had been around for some time: when they were announced at the beginning of September, according to Hoy, the talks had been going on for more than a year.

It was a logical choice, a combination of the only two cooperative supermarkets in the Netherlands. All 268 stores of the green-colored Plus are owned by 229 independent entrepreneurs, who together determine the course. The orange Coop is also completely in the hands of independent entrepreneurs, who run about half of the more than 300 branches themselves.

By continuing together under the banner of Plus, both organizations suddenly form a chain of size. With a 10 percent market share, they are now the number four in the Netherlands, just behind discounter Lidl, and a good distance from Albert Heijn and Jumbo. The merger is expected to take three years to complete. This Wednesday, the first ‘converted’ Coop will open in Heeg, Friesland.

Coop stores are sure to get excited. How do you decide who goes first?

“Heeg was a store that was already being built, the opening was planned. So you don’t want to open it as a Coop for a few more weeks first. In the first year we will also convert a relatively large number of ‘our own’ branches. Many entrepreneurs still want to take the time for that. Such a conversion is tough, and the entrepreneur ultimately has to bear that investment. We are working on a scheme to support them financially.”

Where do you start, once the permission is there?

“You do a lot internally before that time. Because this is not an acquisition, but a real merger. So everyone should feel good about it. We have therefore taken a lot of time to convince everyone that this is not only good for the cooperative, but also for the individual entrepreneur with his shop. Once the approval comes, you’ll want to start rebuilding like a rocket. That takes the most time: you do two or three shops a week. At a central level you are ready faster.”

And, is it mixing a bit?

“It doesn’t work from one day to the next. This merger means something different for a Coop entrepreneur than for the Plus entrepreneur. But we had the first combined meeting recently, and then it’s not like you see one corner with green ties, and one with orange.

“It helps that everyone sees why we do this. Every two years, a supermarket chain disappears as a result of a merger or takeover. There’s a reason for this: you need scale to be able to invest. Our market is changing rapidly. Online grocery shopping is growing, fast delivery is on the rise, logistics is becoming more and more mechanized. That requires huge investments. If you don’t have the scale, you can’t calculate it.”

Of course they saw that at Coop too. But what is the moment when you decide: now we’re going to talk?

“Fred Bosch van Coop and I already knew each other well from Superunie, our purchasing organisation. So it wasn’t a big step to go for a walk. It was also corona time, so that was also more sensible than meeting somewhere. We took several long walks, and discovered that we had the same vision. Merge and continue with one brand: the Plus brand.”