Supermarket chains Plus and Coop have announced they will merge and continue under the name of Plus. The consolidation will create a company with a turnover of five billion euros and 550 stores. This will make it the third largest supermarket chain in The Netherlands after market leader Albert Heijn and Jumbo. Albert Heijn has a market share of 35%, Jumbo 21.5% and the merged Plus will have a market share of 10%.
Experts view the merge a logical step in view of retailers’ need for high investments in IT, robotics and technology. The amounts needed are simply too high for smaller players and these are likely to disappear from the retail landscape in the future. The merger will save the new Plus around 50 million euros annually. The merger is subject to the usual conditions, like approval by the competition authorities, and is expected to close in early 2022.