Swiss retailer Coop, Dutch purchasing cooperative Superunie and Belgian retailer Colruyt Group have formed a European purchasing alliance named Vasco International Trading, with its headquarters based in Amsterdam. Vasco will act as a central point of contact for specific negotiations with leading international suppliers, focusing on pricing and contract terms.
In a joint statement, Colruyt, leading retailer in Belgium, explained that the “independent company aims to enhance the purchasing effectiveness of its shareholders to re-establish a level playing field to secure competitive terms and conditions from FMCG goods from international brand suppliers.” It added: “Vasco International Trading permits its shareholders to compete more effectively with internationally organised competitors, ultimately benefiting their customers. Colruyt is the leading retailer in Belgium.
Superunie represents ten independent Dutch retail organisations, operating over 1,500 stores and holding a 26% market share in the Netherlands. Swiss Coop’s retail activities, meanwhile, generated retail revenues of 20.8 billion Swiss Francs (approximately 21.85 billion euros).
Vasco’s first negotiations are scheduled to begin this autumn. The alliance will take a cautious approach in the first year, but in the long term Vasco International wants to engage in negotiations with approximately 50 of the world’s largest FMCG multinationals.
The alliance does not set itself any concrete objectives regarding purchasing advantages. “First, we want to pool our best practices and gather knowledge across borders. A small percentage on a large amount would already be worth it.”
The increasing tendency of retailers to create international alliances makes sense at a time that many supermarkets are struggling, while big international brand manufacturers are making considerable profits. In addition, many of the concerns expressed by the big brands about the rise of purchasing clubs are myths, concludes emeritus professor Marcel Corstjens of business school Insead in research into the impact of these alliances. What is not a myth, the study reports, is that purchasing groups predominantly use their advantage to lower prices. If retailers oppose big brand multinationals in a competitive market via alliances, the consumer wins.