The great administrative upheavals in AB Vassilopoulos

By George Lampiris

One of the most anticipated developments in the supermarket market was departure of the brand president of AB Vassilopoulos, Vassilis Stavrou. The specific departure, as announced by the second largest supermarket chain in the country – based on turnover and market shares – followed the departure of Dimitris Printziou, Senior Vice President Buying of AB Vassilopoulos at the end of 2021 after 30 years of presence to the company. In fact, Dimitris Printzios has already prepared his next step, which will concern the implementation of a business venture with the establishment of the company Sunterra and the prospect of creating a greenhouse for hydroponic cultivation of tomatoes and vegetables in collaboration with the former head of AB Vassilos Consumer Goods Research Research Institute, Costa Macheira.

The departure of D. Prinzios was not the only one in recent times as well as another high-ranking executive in AB Vassilopoulos, Petros Trachanas, with duties SVP Business Opportunities announced in mid-January his departure from the company , deciding to retire.

A common element is the multi-year presence of all three executives in AB or other subsidiaries

The audience that all three former high-ranking executives had was that they maintained a presence in the company for decades. In particular, Vassilis Stavrou started his career at AB Vassilopoulos in 1994, having completed his studies at the Agricultural School of Aristotle, when he took over as head of the Department of Fruit and Vegetable Standardization of AB Vassilopoulos to go a long way in various posts outside his Del Greek borders. After the acquisition of Delhaize in 2015 by Ahold and before returning to Greece to take over as head of AB, Vassilis Stavrou had been CEO of Mega Image in Romania, another of the supermarket chains of the ahold Delhaize group.

Petros Trachanas had been working with the chain since 1995 as a Commercial Coordinator & Planning Manager to gradually rise to the top management levels of the company, going through many different positions of responsibility.

D. Printzios was present in the company for 30 consecutive years and his departure could mean the end of an era for him and for AB Vassilopoulos. In fact, based on his duties as Senior Vice President Buying of AB, he had the final say in placing products from suppliers and industry on the shelves of the supermarket chain, so his presence was decisive for the fate of many new or existing products that either entered, or exited from the shelves and refrigerators of AB Vassilopoulos stores as well as for balances with all cooperating companies.

The arrival of a German and a Dutchman in Greece

Before the departure of the three men and specifically in December 2019, a very promising or in fact an executive with enhanced responsibilities, the German Kale Becker was coming to Greece to take up duties. In fact, it is considered by many in the market that he could be the next person to lead the chain, replacing Vassilis Stavrou. He currently holds the position of Senior Vice President Operations, ie Vice President of Operations of the company. Kale Becker came to Greece from Metro Cash & Carry Russia, a company of interests of the Ahold Delhaize group, to which AB Vassilopoulos also belongs.

It is interesting that another executive who was not related to the traditional management team and came from abroad, the Dutchman Kees Rusius was also coming to take office in AB in January 2021, being the person who would later replace Dimitris Printzios. after his departure.

The drop in sales in 2021

Coming now in the course of the chain lately, what we will see is that AB Vassilopoulos has lost market share over its competition. It is characteristic that in 2020, in a year when all the supermarkets recorded increased sales by 9.7%, AB Vassilopoulos was limited to an increase in its sales in the same year, at a rate of only 3.76% with a turnover of 2.02 billion euros from 1.94 billion euros in 2019. It followed in 2021 where after the intense mobility of 2020 that came due to the increased demand brought by the pandemic, the intensity of demand began to decrease and AB Vassilopoulos, according to information that we have at our disposal, declining in the whole of last year, with a percentage that moved just under 4%.

AB’s acquisition of control of a subsidiary in the Czech Republic

However, indicative of the intentions of the parent company was the fact that in 2021 it decided to include AB Vassilopoulos and Greece under the supervision of the Czech subsidiary, Albert. In fact, the Ahold Delhaize group in the specific development that took place at the end of August 2021, stipulated that the brand president of AB Vassilopoulos, Vassilis Stavrou, should now refer to the CEO of the Czech Republic, Jesper Lauridsen.

For the residents of Jerusalem, however, the data in AB Vassilopoulos lately are contrary to the plan of the governors. The chain reportedly cost the fact that during the pandemic Sklavenitis was favored by the supermarkets, as it has 32 stores with an area of ​​over 2,500 sq.m. to which a large number of consumers were directed on the one hand because it felt safe and comfortable to move to larger points of sale due to the pandemic, on the other hand due to the variety and concentration of many different products, which they offer in the same area. At the same time, in fact, Sklavenitis continued to strengthen its sales and market shares, in contrast to AB Vassilopoulos who continued to lose shares against the competition.

The decisive role of supermarkets

Characteristic of the course followed by the large supermarket stores, a fact that favored Sklavenitis, is that within 2021 the rooms with an area of ​​over 2,500 sq.m. (supermarkets) showed the largest increase – of + 8.1% – in their sales, according to data from Nielsen IQ. In a growth rate, although much more restrained, followed the smaller rooms, up to 400 sq.m., moving with + 1.5%, which means that buyers choose the smaller stores for their convenience, but also their daily shopping.

At 550 million euros the turnover of Bazaar products

It is noted, among other things, that the supermarkets offer the possibility of selling bazaar products – clothes, shoes, electrical, electronic, garden items – due to the larger spaces available in these stores, spaces that AB Vassilopoulos does not have compared to Sklavenitis. It should be noted that the bazaar products in 2021 corresponded to 6% of the total sales of organized retail, ie in the amount of 550 million euros. Overall this category according to NielsenIQ data recorded a 14.9% increase in sales over the past year.

The balances in the “top of mind” of the consumers

At the same time, Sklavenitis was the one who managed to build recognition, gain and consolidate his presence through the acquired network of Marinopoulos, where in combination with the motto “As Cheap as Nowhere” and the firm decision not to operate on Sundays that allows the law during the year, gained points in the consciousness of consumers. Characteristic was the imprint of the research of the company Braincandy last December, where Sklavenitis with 41.9% is the first that comes as the first thought in the mind of the consumer, AB comes second with 23.5%, Masoutis third with 12, 9%, Lidl fourth with 8.4%, My market with 6.1% and Galaxias with 2.5%.