The wine buyers of the Netherlands

The Dutch economy is booming and people have more money to spend, says Cees van Casteren MW. He reveals the buyers who are supplying the wine.

(Clockwise) Schilperoort, Vanhorenbeeck, Huisman, Haak, Jurna, Klaassen, van Houtert, Speet
(Clockwise) Schilperoort, Vanhorenbeeck, Huisman, Haak, Jurna, Klaassen, van Houtert, Speet

The old saying “if Germany sneezes, Holland catches a cold” doesn’t seem to be valid any more. In defiance of the slowdown in Germany and despite Brexit uncertainty and global trade tensions, the Dutch economy is flourishing. In the second quarter it was solid again: the labour market is strong, driving up consumption and putting upward pressure on wages, while exports also grew. The economy will likely expand at a slightly slower rate in the second half, although the tight labour market and a more expansionary fiscal stance should support domestic demand. 

Wine trends

Climate change seems to affect buying behaviour more than the economy per se, as rosé is again on the rise, especially the paler Provence style. After a dip a few years ago, sales grew in double digits again last year and rosé is also extremely popular this year. Thanks to warmer weather, it is slowly but surely becoming a year-round drink. Fresh and fruitier whites are becoming significant as well, especially the likes of Verdejo, Albariño, Pinot Grigio and Vermentino. (Bio-)organic wines are here to stay as demand for sustainability extends to the way wine is produced. More consumers are drinking less, and no- and low-alcohol wines have never been such a force as now. Some stores even carry alcohol-free sparkling wine or, for that matter, alcohol-free gin.

Size also matters. Although 750ml is still the norm, half bottles are now common to meet demand from an ageing consumer base, while at the same time magnums have become the established party format (Aldi even introduced a 6L Prosecco earlier this year). Bag-in-box is also in growth in the higher price brackets.

The buyers

Bart Schilperoort, 
lead category manager, Jumbo Supermarkets

Jumbo is the number two supermarket in Holland, with an estimated 650 stores nationwide. Schilperoort accepted his job some two years ago without much experience in wine and spirits. From the beginning he looked at the category through the lens of a consumer. “Wine is not just about price but also image and presentation,” he says. Standing in front of Jumbo’s wine aisles, he would ask himself: “Would I buy this wine?” He then combined his gut feeling with data analysis and introduced some 150 new SKUs within six months, at the expense of many existing brands. This coincided with Jumbo’s launch of Jumbo Foodmarkets with wine sections comparable to wine specialty stores. There are currently six, and Jumbo’s ambition is to add more. 

Dirk Vanhorenbeeck, 
wine buying director, Aldi Netherlands

When Meininger’s caught up with Vanhorenbeeck, he was having strategic meetings with his peers from Aldi Nord and Süd, who had just decided to work more closely together. Vanhorenbeeck does both portfolio management and wine buying for Holland’s 500 Aldi stores. He has just 75 SKUs but a very dynamic portfolio that he switches up. “The regular portfolio is to keep the existing customer base happy while the ins/outs are to wow new customers and make Aldi’s wine section a destination category.” Vanhorenbeeck looks to what’s happening in the UK rather than to Nielsen figures. A three times Vinologist of the Year and Magister Vini (the Netherlands’ highest wine qualification), Vanhorenbeeck has enough wine knowledge to be less dependent on suppliers than some of his peers, which he regards as a huge advantage.

Spike Huisman, 
label manager, wijnvoordeel.nl (e-Luscious)

Huisman introduced plenty of changes during his two-year tenure at Albert Heijn, Holland’s biggest supermarket chain. He expanded into smaller formats, introduced wine taps with different formats at higher price points (wine taps are a premium bag-in-box offering) and created more differentiation on the shelf, alternating premium and non-premium wines from the same varieties. His changes fuelled the sales of premium wines that had previously simply collected dust. But after a total of eight years of category management at different supermarkets, Huisman was ready for something new, and moved to wijnvoordeel.nl, the largest online wine retailer in the Benelux, selling some 13m bottles of wine per year. The ability to personalise is one of the more exciting challenge of e-commerce for Huisman.

Nanco Haak, 
lead category manager wines, Albert Heijn

Albert Heijn has 889 stores in Holland – could there be a more high-pressured job in the Dutch wine buying scene? Haak, who recently replaced Spike Huisman, brings a lot of category management experience to the role. After only a short time in the job, he couldn’t say much yet but he did feel that no- and low-alcohol offerings were too spread out in the stores; he is conscious that Albert Heijn has been overtaken in this category by some regional supermarkets and Plus Supermarkets. “We are duty-bound to correct that situation ASAP,” he says. He also sees possibilities in aligning the online business better with the in-store approach.

Bastiaan Jurna, 
head of category management wines, 
Gall & Gall

Born into a family of retailers (his father had shoe shops in the north of the country), Jurna grew up knowing about changing consumer preferences, flexible sourcing and innovating to maintain and grow the customer base. He joined Albert Heijn after a traineeship in 2001 and started at Gall & Gall as spirits merchandiser before developing a passion for wine. Founded in the 19th century as a wine and spirits specialty store, Gall & Gall is retailer Ahold Delhaize’s wine and spirits specialist, and has 600 stores nationwide. After a varied career elsewhere, Jurna returned to Gall & Gall in 2012 and became responsible for adapting the store format, including organising shelves by taste profile. He became head of category management in 2016 and his main goals include the online transformation of wine retailing, and to make Gall & Gall the retailer of choice for a broad customer base by offering the classic wines of the world. 

Alexandra Pouderoyen, 
category manager and buyer, wines, 
beers & savoury snacks, HEMA

Acknowledged as the grand dame of wine buying in Holland, Pouderoyen first built a reputation for herself at Plus Supermarkets. Under her reign, Plus had one of the most exciting wine ranges of any supermarket. She then moved on to Jumbo and is now at HEMA, a Dutch department store that sells only private label. HEMA, which has 750 stores worldwide, is known for its simple, fresh and modern style. Pouderoyen has created offerings such as the Wine-for-Two range in 500ml bottles (exactly two glasses for two people), a Cava with lighting in the bottle, a Valentine’s Day wine with a label where customers can write their own personal wishes, and related products, such as a home winemaking kit (I tried it and managed to ferment something I actually drank!).

Yvonne Klaassen, 
senior wine buyer, Superunie

The 60-year-old Superunie is a very Dutch concept: a cooperative buying group for 12 independent, mostly regional retailers. Together they have more than 1,500 stores and an approximately 30% market share. Thanks to a deep knowledge of the regional markets in which they operate, many Superunies are market leaders in their area and can therefore compete with the national supermarket chains. Good examples are Poiesz in the north (Friesland) and Jan Linders in the south. Although individual retailers obey the rules of engagement with Superunie, the extent to which they source via Superunie varies: Nettorama, with just 80 SKUs, almost fully depends on Superunie’s wine choices, while Plus Supermarkets, with more than 350 SKUs, sources approximately 80% of its wine from  Superunie. 

Peter van Houtert, 
managing director, Verbunt Verlinden

Officially established in 1844, Verbunt has changed hands several times since the 1970s and in this period became a wine specialist. Under van Houtert’s stewardship, Verbunt has gone from strength to strength, reaching record levels of turnover in 2019. The company serves both the on-trade and some 115 Wijnkring specialty stores, which represents approximately 50% of total sales. In 2010, Mijndert Pon (Salentein Holding) acquired the company. Van Houtert, who has had a relationship with Pon since the turn of the century, spent some time developing New World wines in the portfolio. More recently, Verbunt acquired Wijn Verlinden and Flor del Vino. “There is a wafer-thin difference between hobbyism and professional sourcing,” says van Houtert, adding that any decision about the portfolio is taken by a team that includes two salespeople, Jurgen Honing and Floris Verlinden, buyer Floor de Kock, and himself. As well as being managing director of Verbunt Verlinden, van Houtert is also chairman of the KNVW, the Royal Association of Dutch Wine Traders.

Joep Speet, 
senior buyer, Pallas Wines and sourcing manager, Delta Wines

Delta Wines is a group selling some 70m bottles in the Dutch market. The company has three commercial entities: DGS, Coenecoop and Pallas. There is a separate buying team for DGS and Coenecoop combined, while Pallas is focused on smaller, terroir-oriented producers. Speet sources wines for Pallas’s trade customers and is a member of the buying team of DGS and Coenecoop (retail and traditional trade) to help the other buyers with their sourcing. He actively looks for gaps in the Dutch market. Speet also holds the highest wine qualification in Holland, Magister Vini. 

Cees van Casteren MW

This article first appeared in Issue 5, 2019 of Meininger's Wine Business International magazine, available in print or online by subscription

You can also sign up to our free newsletter

Appeared in

 

 

Latest Articles