Weighted yet found wanting after four years. Roland Palmer, chairman of Blokker, utterly unexpected departure at the retail company. Circles around the company stating that he is not sufficiently grown, according to the Supervisory Board as Chairman to rapidly adapt the company to the Internet by rapidly changing market.
The press release speaks of a” difference of opinion “between the commissioners and Palmer. The ongoing transformation strategy designed to put an end to the disappointing results, according to the spokesman continued unabated. Vice President Theo de Kool takes temporary charge until a replacement is found.
Not familiar with Netherlands
Palmer experienced a difficult start to Blokker. He grew up in England and was not familiar with the Dutch culture. The retail he knew only as an adviser, not the final responsibility. He was brought to the group by Jaap Blokker in 2010, but the program broke down when Blocker died in 2011, and Palmer had to take over the helm.
Palmer also had the bad luck that the retail landscape changed dramatically in recent years. Internet sales were critical mass, but Blokker had when Palmer took office in 2011 no online strategy. Former chief Jaap Blokker believed and invested in there. Also in the field of ICT must be a catch.
A bad omen for Palmer was that the commissioners two years ago decided to one of them, former Sara Lee director Theo de Kool, to be transferred to the Board of Directors, to assist the CEO. But in the end it did not offer sufficient relief.
TV ads
De transformation strategy has been formulated last summer, hoping to grow profitable again within three years in the sectors of household, toys and live. Garden center Overvecht has now been sold and the company wants to expand in Germany store operations in household products and grow in France with toys.
One the major problems in Blokker was that the store formats had become jaded. For years, the group had invested too little in innovation, and the chains on the left and right were overtaken by competitors like Action and shops as Bol.com.
Last year the formulas Blokker, Leen Bakker, Big Bazar and Xenos launched a modernization of the stores. Unlike in the past, Blokker will also major television advertising campaigns in contention to win back customers. Leen Bakker began in late 2014, and there Blokker last May.
Internet sales
To get the web sales of land Nextail Palmer founded on, a new company for the Internet activities of all retail formats. In 2017 € 300 million should come from the company’s revenue from the online channel, so Blokker made known last year. The Internet packages are also made available in the stores so that sales staff less often ‘no’ have to sell. Nextail through more cooperation between the different store formats, which did almost everything on his own, got underway.
The leak is at The retailer, however, still not over. In May Blokker reported a slight decline in turnover of just over € 2 billion in 2014, while the results were scuttled. The company said the first signs of recovery. Next Monday will be full-year figures published by the group
The Blokker formula has now intervened:. There are 400 employees laid off. That came within the company as a shock, because something has never happened at Blokker. The other formulas not reorganizations are announced.
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