Hema to emphasise Amsterdam roots as international expansion gears up

Dutch high street staple Hema is rebranding its stores outside the Netherlands as Hema Amsterdam to emphasise its Dutch roots.

The move is one of a string of new policies aimed at boosting the company’s fortunes, following its takeover by Dutch entrepreneur Marcel Boekhoorn last year.

Hema also plans to sell its popular stationery, household goods and kitchenware range in other stores and is in ‘advanced talks’ with several retail groups inside and outside the Netherlands, the company said in a statement.

The company’s seven bakeries are also being sold off, with a contract to continue to supply stores with cakes and pastries. The proceeds will be used to reduce Hema’s debts, the AD reported.

Losses

Hema booked record sales of €1.3bn last year, as its international expansion continued. The company posted a net loss of €233m but said much of this was due to one-offs and goodwill relating to the takeover.

‘Without the goodwill write-offs, Hema’s losses would have been almost entirely wiped out,’ chief executive Tjeerd Jegen said at the presentation of the company’s 2018 results this week.

Hema now operates more than 700 stores in nine countries including France, Germany, Spain and the UK, and has a payroll of more than 11,000.

Hema stands for Hollandsche Eenheidsprijzen Maatschappij Amsterdam (Dutch unit price society of Amsterdam) and first opened for business on the capital’s Kalverstraat in 1926.