Etablissements Delha (NYSE:DEG)
Historical Stock Chart

From Mar 2020 to Mar 2025

Dutch brewer Heineken NV's (HEIA.AE) soda drinks unit Vrumona Thursday said a Dutch grocery chain owned by Ahold NV (AH.AE) will remove its products from the shelves, citing a "business conflict."

In a full-page newspaper advert published Thursday said the Albert Heijn supermarket chain will remove all of its products.

An Albert Heijn spokesperson told Dow Jones Newswires that the dispute centers around prices. "We aren't in negotiations with Vrumona anymore, but they indicated in the newspaper advertisement (they are) willing to resolve the problem as soon as possible, so we expect that Vrumona will come up with a new proposal soon", the spokesperson said.

Vrumona director Jan-Kees Nieman said that Vrumona has been in negotiations with Albert Heijn for several months on the contract for 2009. Nieman declined to comment on the sales it generates at Albert Heijn, but said that "Albert Heijn, with a market share of over 30% in the Netherlands, is an important customer for us".

In February Unilever NV (UN) and Delhaize Group (DEG), a Belgian retailer, had a similar dispute in which Delhaize removed 250 Unilever products from its shelfs.

Vrumona produces brands such as Royal Club and Sissi and has license agreements with PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) and Coca-Cola Co.'s (KO) Dr. Pepper.

-By Anna Marij van der Meulen and Maarten van Tartwijk, Dow Jones Newswires; +31 20 571 5201; annamarij.vandermeulen@dowjones.com