Drugstore retailer Douglas has named Sander van der Laan, the former CEO of Action and Albert Heijn, as its new chief executive, effective as of 1 November. Van der Laan replaces Tina Müller, who recently announced her decision to step down from the position. Müller will join the group’s supervisory board, following her five-year tenure as chief executive, reports ESMmagazine.com. Van der Laan served as the chief executive of non-food retailer Action for six years, during which time its sales rose from €2 billion to more than €5 billion. At Acton, he also led the way in terms of expanding the business into ten European countries, as well as establishing the company’s digital interface. Prior to that, he spent 16 years with Ahold Delhaize in various management positions, most notably as chief executive of the Albert Heijn supermarket banner, where he led the brand’s transition to a multichannel retail brand. “Sander van der Laan has extensive management expertise in the retail sector, combined with an outstanding track record in driving sales, marketing, supply chain management and digitalisation,” commented Henning Kreke, chairman of the supervisory board of Douglas.
Grocery delivery app Instacart is likely to postpone its plans to go public in 2022, amid market uncertainty that has left investors worried about growing volatility in capital markets, two sources familiar with the plan told Reuters. Globally, the tech IPO market is in the middle of its worst drought in nearly two decades. US listings have raised a little over $7 billion so far this year, according to data from Dealogic. Traditional IPOs, excluding special-purpose acquisition companies, had raised a record $154 billion last year. Instacart has not completely ruled out the option to go public, a source said, but added that the plans to list the company in 2022 look extremely unlikely.
Lidl GB has announced plans to permanently replace green-coloured caps from semi-skimmed and organic fresh milk with clear caps, reports ESMMagazine.com. The decision follows a successful four-week trial, in partnership with milk supplier Müller, conducted by the company in September of this year. Lidl GB will roll out the milk SKUs with clear caps in a phased manner, commencing 31 October. The discounter expects to complete to process by 21 November. Scott Davey, senior buying director at Lidl GB, said, “We remain committed to supporting our customers in helping them make more sustainable shopping decisions on a daily basis. Customer feedback during the trial was overwhelmingly positive, and we are thrilled to be making this change permanent across Lidl stores.”
© 2022 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. For more retail news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
