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."

A better everyday life means that HEMA is always nearby for the customer. HEMA has a strong network of company-owned and franchised shops in its core countries of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. Additional investments will be made in the shops to enhance the shopping experience and ease of shopping. The digital channels will be further developed at an accelerated pace to create a seamless connection with the shops. The omni-channel approach is also being invested in the growth markets of Germany and Austria.

With its 750 shops and 19,000 employees, HEMA offers 32,000 products and services. HEMA will focus on sustainable quality, recognisable Dutch design and a good price for these products and services. The collaboration with Jumbo will be further expanded. In addition to the HEMA shelves in the Jumbo shops in the Netherlands and Belgium, we will soon start the first pilots in which new food concepts will be tested within HEMA together with Jumbo.

CEO Saskia Egas Reparaz: "In our mission to make everyday life better and the world a bit more beautiful, HEMA focuses on durable goods that last longer and thus, together with our customers, we are helping to reduce the CO2 footprint. In doing so, we are increasingly moving away from the disposable society. We continue to opt for products that are recognisable by their typical Dutch design, that are produced sustainably and that are affordable for everyone. In short, HEMA will once again do what it has always been good at, in a way that reflects the spirit of the times. 

Thanks to the new owners, HEMA is once again financially healthy. Now it' s time to work on the future. And we will start immediately! HEMA will be HEMA again, and in the coming weeks, people will notice that. With the holidays just around the corner, we're going to give our customers the familiar HEMA feeling again, with an eye for tradition and innovation."

HEMA ends its collaboration with the online retailer Wehkamp. The wholesale cooperation (shop-in-shop) in France with supermarkets Franprix and Casino-Géant is also discontinued. Master franchises outside Europe will also not be developed further Master franchises outside Europe will also not be developed further. The existing contracts in the Middle East and Mexico will be respected.

These decisions are in line with HEMA's previously communicated strategy and pave the way to focus on the company's own shops and online channels, where a leading position in the market of everyday life and sustainable growth are possible.

Saskia Egas Reparaz, CEO HEMA: "It is important that HEMA focuses on its own shops and online sales channels within the chosen core countries. Unfortunately, we have to say goodbye to channels that fall outside of this scope for the time being. We have evaluated our entire portfolio. By making this choice, we can better utilise growth opportunities in the future. This is better for HEMA, its employees and its customers in the long term."

This decision aligns with the strategy previously announced by HEMA CEO Saskia Egas Reparaz. The strategy focuses on countries where HEMA may be able to achieve a leading position in the ‘everyday life’ and sustainable growth markets. HEMA’s departure from the UK also fits in with this strategy.

Saskia Egas Reparaz, CEO HEMA: ‘It is regrettable, of course, to have concluded that we have not managed to establish a leading market position in Spain. We are reviewing our entire country portfolio in order to focus on a limited number of countries, which will allow us to seize future growth opportunities. In the long run, this will be better for HEMA, our employees and our customers.’

This decision is in line with the previously communicated strategy of HEMA's new owners together with CEO Saskia Egas Reparaz. With the departure from the United Kingdom, HEMA is following its chosen path for the coming years: sustainable growth in its core markets.

Saskia Egas Reparaz, CEO HEMA: "Of course it is unfortunate that we have to say goodbye to our colleagues and customers in the United Kingdom. HEMA started in the UK in 2014 as part of the strategy at the time to grow into an international brand. However, we never managed to build a solid position in the UK market. We are now evaluating our entire country portfolio with the aim of being able to focus on a limited number of countries, which will allow us to better exploit growth opportunities in the future. This is better for HEMA, its employees and its customers in the long term."

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.