Tjeerd Jegen van HEMA

The retail company has been fundamentally changed by how the customer is more demanding and online has completely turned the business model upside down. We have many stores, 560 in the Netherlands, to let go of 200 and to still be able to grow as a company and remain relevant, we have added an online channel. The online channel is growing fast, but those stores are quite difficult. So we want to create a different model alongside our core business, alongside our core existence, by creating partnerships. With partnerships, no longer seeing yourself as a retail chain but as a brand, to give that brand and transfer it to that partner, giving partners a chance to sell the brand in their countries and in channels with customers. That has become our business model.

Regarding purpose, the right word is purpose. It's about where you stand as a company and why you are doing what you do, the things you want to do. That is not my invention; it was the invention of our colleagues. Actually, we can go back to our founders, and our founding was a very pure idea in the 1920s. They wanted to make affordable products for everyone and offer them so that everyone could live better. That idea of democratizing better living, offering affordable better living to everyone, is actually what drives us. We have further elaborated on that: not only must the products be better, but also how they are made, around society, here as in the production locations, but also care for the planet. That is our business model. For that reason, customers buy our stuff, and for that reason, we can continue to grow. That is very normal for us, that is strong for our company.

We have very consciously chosen not to be the cheapest and also consciously say that it's not possible at all, because we also want to ensure that the people who make our products get a good salary at the locations where they do that, that they are paid for overtime and can be members of a union. We also want to ensure that the supply chain is well organized, but the raw materials must be made and must come from sustainable sources, and that just costs a bit more. We have done that consciously, we communicate that to our customers, mainly by explaining what it is. We still see that customers in the Netherlands appreciate it, so we also see in those groups where we have done that, currently when we look at everything, but no, that clothing was the very first thing we did. You really saw that group also grow, or more customers discovered it. Now I can find sustainable products, but the nice thing is we are now working to roll out HEMA outside Europe. The people we talk to, we are now again collaborating, actually completely choosing, and the most important reasons why they say this is new for us, new for our market, new for our customers, the sustainable character must be included. So it is good for our existing customers, and we also already see that new customers and new partners see that as a distinguishing element for HEMA. Precisely there it gets a chance, so it has been a very positive development for us so far.

If you look at the world where we stand today and the state of the planet, then I think frontrunner is something like chest-beating, so I want to stay far away from that. Look, in the linear model, the model where we make something from a raw material, sell, and the customer throws the product away, that model is finite. In that model, we are now working to make the raw materials sustainable, but we need to move to a circular model. In a circular model, we are absolutely not the frontrunner; a lot needs to happen. Maybe in the linear model we did the right things, but still a lot needs to happen if we want to become circular. As the next step for us, you could invest in your current business model, so our stores in the Netherlands, our stores in Belgium, because you want to ensure that those stores remain relevant while the customer comes to stores less and less often. How do you deal with that? How do you ensure that you can grow outside Europe and reach new customers there? How do you make that trade-off? That is a very big dilemma, and we try to make the right choices. Because we have decided to, we have chosen to keep making the investments we can make in our core market, and for our expansion, not to do it ourselves anymore. That was a very devilish dilemma because you don't want to keep everything on hold, stay completely in control, but do so not anymore. We have said: in our core market, we invest ourselves, we also keep the stores up-to-date, nice new restaurants, nice facilities, good e-commerce offering, but outside our core markets, we let everything be done by our partners, and those partners invest for us. That is how we solved that dilemma.

What could keep me awake at night? I sleep well, but where there are always risks is: how do you ensure that at all times, at the places where our products are made, the right things are done? 450 locations around the world, many in Asia, many in developing countries. There our products are made, and then you naturally come to check if things are going well, but you are not permanently there. What you want to guarantee is that what you agree upon happens: that people are paid well, that good hours are paid, that union membership is allowed, that children can go to school. That also happens when you are not there. To guarantee that and to be ahead of that, I think is the biggest challenge we have. You do that by building a long-term relationship with your suppliers. We almost never switch suppliers; we believe in long-term partnerships. But if they really don't change the things you find important, we stop the relationship. That is, I think, the biggest challenge for us. You have so many products, like places where they are made, and you want to guarantee that everyone is paid in a good way, is treated, and can participate with HEMA.

Well, I really enjoy leading my company. Sometimes you come into this role, and I find it very beautiful to be able to inspire and motivate people to make a difference. And of course, my shareholder wants to see that ultimately every day, every week, every month, and also year, enough money is earned. That is an important part of my job; I am responsible for that. But where I really get my energy from is to make a positive difference. I want to make a positive difference for the people who work for me, that they can grow and develop. Make a positive difference for our customers: if a customer can participate in sustainability in an affordable way, not an expensive Tesla, but just a simple romper, that is also something we can make possible. Yes, and I find it very beautiful to give back to society. The HEMA Foundation I was allowed to establish, I am very proud of that. It is separate from me, it is always separate from HEMA, and we do very beautiful things for an inclusive society. And then look, here for more energy from making a positive difference. We only lose people? Every month or every week, that drives me.