Logistical problems at Delhaize: franchisees demand compensation

As several franchisees of Belgian supermarket chain Delhaize are struggling with empty shelves due to logistical problems, they demand financial compensation.

“Incident”

In several stores, Delhaize has a problem with its supply chain, mostly with coffee, chocolate, cereals, cookies and crisps. The chain does not deny the problems, but points to a technical incident in its distribution centre earlier this month. Not true, says branch organisation buurtsuper.be: it claims the problems started to years ago, when Delhaize opened a new automatic warehouse. “Especially in peak moments – think of bank holiday weekends – Delhaize seems unable to supply enough stock to its independent supermarkets.”

“Normally, we try to handle these things internally and keep them away from the press, but now images of empty shelves have been shared on social media, we have to react”, buurtsuper.be’s Luc Ardies told Belgian newspaper De Standaard. His organisation now demands a financial compensation for the turnover loss that his members have suffered, and developed a special website to gather evidence about the supply problems.

In another newspaper, De Tijd, Delhaize’s spokesperson Roel Dekelver agrees that this battle should not be fought in the papers: “We will continue our dialogue with our independent managers later this week”, Dekelver states.