Jurriaan Pouw is een echte finance professional met ruime kennis en ervaring in de retail. Hij begon zijn loopbaan bij PricewaterhouseCoopers en sinds 2003 werkte hij in verschillende financiële rollen bij achtereenvolgens C1000 en Jumbo. Na de overname van C1000 door Jumbo was hij enkele jaren financieel directeur van C1000. Daarna heeft hij in de rol van finance director, en sinds 2018 als eindverantwoordelijk ecommerce manager, leidinggegeven aan de sterke groei en doorontwikkeling van ecommerce binnen Jumbo.

New strategic direction 
The management change comes at a logical time. Thanks to the new shareholders, HEMA is financially healthy once again. A new strategic course has been set out in which HEMA is focusing on the core markets of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. Within these countries, HEMA is devoting attention to the growth of its own online channels and stores. The recently presented strategic direction means that the role and focal areas of the CFO will also change.

Saskia Egas Reparaz, CEO of HEMA, comments,  "Joost has made an important contribution to the restructuring and sale of HEMA, as well as the transition to the new owners. He was closely involved in the development of the new strategic direction and played a crucial role in the sale of the HEMA bakeries. I am very grateful to him for his efforts. Together with all HEMA colleagues, I wish Joost every success for the future. I am delighted to welcome Jurriaan and look forward to working with him."

Joost de Beijer, CFO of HEMA, comments, "It was an exciting time at HEMA. I am pleased and grateful that I was able to guide the company through this financially. Now that HEMA is in calmer waters and the focus of the CFO role is more on the implementation of the strategy, I feel the time is right to close this extraordinary chapter in my career. I wish Jurriaan every success in his new challenge."

Loe Limpens is a well-known name in the world of design and retail. He is one of the founders of Yellow Dress Retail, an agency specialised in retail design, retail communication, and private label packaging design. Limpens: "Retail design is not a separate role within an organisation. All visible and audible expressions must fit together. The customer should receive the same message and get the same feeling, over and over again. Retail design is a 'Gesamtkunstwerk'." Earlier, he worked for Albert Heijn, among others, where he gave the private label its own identity. Limpens is on the jury of several retail design awards and is a much sought-after speaker in the field of trends, design and retail.

Sally Bendelow, the current creative director, has decided in good consultation to leave HEMA. Over the past two years, Bendelow has made a significant contribution to HEMA's product and packaging design. We would like to thank Sally Bendelow for her excellent work at HEMA and wish her every success.

Management team
HEMA is proud to present four new management team members who, under the leadership of Saskia Egas Reparaz, are ready to make an excellent start on 1 June and lead HEMA to new successes. The team consists of seven members in total, and is designed to provide an ideal mix of HEMA knowledge and experience, as well as new impulses from outside the company. Wilma Veldman (Chief Product Officer), Bas Verheijen (Chief Customer Officer), Machiel Lagerweij (Chief Operating Officer) and Pieter Heij (Chief Technology Officer) join the team from outside. Nadine Beister and Joost de Beijer will continue to serve in the new management team as Chief People Officer and Chief Financial Officer, respectively. Veldman and Lagerweij previously worked for HEMA and therefore know HEMA from both inside and out.

Financial results  2020 
- Net sales amounted to €1,064 million in 2020, compared to €1,259 million in 2019. The decrease is entirely attributable to the negative impact of COVID-19. - With sales doubling, HEMA performed strongly in the area of e-commerce. - Normalised EBITDA came in at €35.5 million, compared to €105 million in 2019. - The net loss amounted to €214.8 million - adjusted for one-off impairments this was €149.6 million - and was mainly driven by the impact of COVID-19, one-off restructuring costs and (re)financing costs. - The financial restructuring of HEMA in 2020 reduced HEMA's debt by more than 50% and interest costs by more than 80%. After the acquisition by the consortium Parcom and Mississippi Ventures, HEMA's debt further decreased to €200 million with an annual interest expense of less than €10 million. 

Operational results 2020
Last year was one of the most challenging years ever for HEMA, its employees and affiliated companies. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, HEMA has worked hard to continue to be the trusted place in the community where customers can shop and buy everyday products safely and efficiently. The shop closures caused by COVID-19 led to a 15.5% decrease in HEMA's net sales to €1,064 million. Compared to a year earlier, normalised EBITDA in 2020 decreased by 66.2% to €35.5 million.

With its strong multichannel strategy, a substantial expansion of logistics capacity and the use of shops as local warehouses according to the ship-from-store model, HEMA achieved record online sales in 2020. HEMA's sales with strategic partners such as Wehkamp, Jumbo, Franprix and Géant/Casino continued to increase in 2020. At the end of the 2020 financial year, 662 supermarkets of Jumbo, Franprix and Géant/Casino had a HEMA 'shop-in-shop' with household items, textiles, stationery, party supplies and clothing.

Successful restructuring of capital structure and new shareholders
Together with the former bondholders and then the new owners Parcom and Mississippi Ventures, HEMA accelerated the restructuring of the bond debt and replaced it with regular bank financing. This reduced the annual interest expense from €50 million to less than €10 million per year. The new capital structure and significantly reduced interest costs have laid a solid foundation for HEMA's future growth strategy.

Reopening on 28 April
In the first two weeks after the partial reopening of the shops in the Netherlands on 28 April, customers found their way back to the shops. Although the number of visitors is still limited due to the COVID-19 measures, the turnover in the shops is above the results of the same period in 2019. With this, a good first step has been taken, which gives confidence for the future. The new management team will therefore work with great energy and enthusiasm on the new HEMA strategy from 1 June.

Pieter Haas, chairman of HEMA's Supervisory Board: ‘Through constructive mutual consultation, we have agreed on a date that is satisfactory for all parties. We are very much looking forward to Saskia taking up her post on 1 June.’ 

Saskia Egas Reparaz: 'I look back on 22 fantastic years at Ahold Delhaize. I have had the opportunity to learn so much in different roles. With this new step as CEO of HEMA, a new chapter is about to begin for me. I'm very much looking forward to it.’

Tjeerd Jegen, the current CEO of HEMA, will step down at the end of May.

Last week, the consortium announced that the acquisition was expected to be completed by the beginning of February. Today, the new Supervisory Board (RVC) under the chairmanship of Pieter Haas was also installed. Wilco Jiskoot and Ronald van de Vis remain committed to HEMA as members of the Supervisory Board. In addition, Ton van Veen (Mississippi Ventures) and Bas Becks (Parcom) have joined the Supervisory Board on behalf of the new shareholders. 

Later this year, Saskia Egas Reparaz will succeed Tjeerd Jegen as CEO of HEMA. The exact date will hopefully be announced shortly. Tjeerd Jegen indicated earlier that the final takeover of HEMA by the consortium was a natural moment to make room for new leadership. 

In the coming period, the plans for HEMA will be further elaborated. It goes without saying that, at this time, all attention will be focused on leading the company through the corona crisis in a responsible manner. Despite the continuing uncertainty about the duration of the current lockdown and the reopening of the shops, all those involved emphasise that they have great confidence in the future of the retail company.

Saskia Egas Reparaz has been working for Ahold Delhaize, where she currently holds the position of CEO of drugstore chain Etos and is a member of the European leadership team of Ahold Delhaize. In recent years, she has successfully helped Etos develop into a leading omni-channel brand with a strong online position and an entirely unique image. Saskia Egas Reparaz is widely appreciated for her connecting qualities and customer-oriented, innovative approach that puts growth first. She has worked at Ahold Delhaize for over twenty years. 

Calmer waters
Parcom and Mississippi Ventures express their confidence in Egas Reparaz and the new leadership she brings with her. They also state that they have experienced with respect and appreciation how Tjeerd Jegen as a professional leader with an unprecedented drive has managed to lead HEMA through uncertain times and has brought HEMA to where it is today.

Tjeerd Jegen, CEO HEMA: "In recent years, we have all worked very hard to bring HEMA into calmer waters and we have succeeded. Although our shops are still closed at this time and the pandemic has brought daily life to a virtual standstill, I am convinced that we will emerge from this situation as well. A new era is dawning, with opportunities for growth and development. This is therefore a natural moment to make way for new leadership."

Supervisory Board
Pieter Haas will be appointed as the new Chairman of the Supervisory Board (RvC) at HEMA. Pieter is also active as a supervisory director and investor in various companies. Previously, he worked at MediaMarktSaturn and Metro for over 18 years, 5 of which as CEO MediaMarktSaturn. Pieter brings with him a wealth of international retail knowledge and management experience. He takes over the chairmanship of Wilco Jiskoot who, like current Supervisory Board member Ronald van de Vis, will remain involved with Hema as a member of the Supervisory Board. In addition, Ton van Veen (Mississippi Ventures) and Bas Becks (Parcom) will join the Supervisory Board on behalf of the new shareholders.

Confidence in the future 
In the coming period, the plans for HEMA will be further elaborated. It goes without saying that, at this point, all attention will be focused on leading the company through the coronary crisis in a healthy way. Despite the continuing uncertainty about the duration of the current lockdown and the reopening of the shops, all those involved emphasise that they have great confidence in the future of the retail company. 

For more information or questions, please contact on behalf of the consortium of Parcom and Mississippi Ventures: 

Namens het consortium van Parcom en Mississippi Ventures: 

On behalf of Mississippi Ventures 
Claire Trügg 
Phone: +31623403457 
Email: claire.trugg@jumbo.com 

On behalf of Parcom 
Sabine Post-de Jong 
Phone: +31639576367 
E-mail: sabine.post@confidantpartners.com