Kees Rijnhout, Jaguar The Fresh Company:
"The Jaguar brand has yet to meet its equal in the sector"
“When I joined Zwaardfruit, the Jaguar trademark hadn’t been top of the bill for a while, mostly because it covered too much uneven quality,” Rijnhout remembers. “So some revisions were in order. We brought in a new standard and items not living up to it were discarded. By raising that bar we earned back people’s trust. Doing away with a slightly tainted company name also helped. After that we reintroduced some varieties. Six years ago, 17% of the assortment was marketed as Jaguar; right now it’s almost 50.”
The move paid off and on today’s market, Jaguar needs no introduction. Rijnhout: “It is hard, in fact, to name a brand that includes such a formidable range and can boast a global reach equivalent to Jaguar’s. Granted, brands like Chiquita and Fyffes are more famous, but these carry only a limited number of products. We have no ‘B’ brand. The products have to be good and sturdy, but also readily marketable and available in large volumes for our customers. This stipulation has earned us a solid group of reliable suppliers who want to market under Jaguar, and who also feel confident enough to call on international retailers.”
Changing markets and teamwork
The entire fruit and vegetable chain has always had the interest of Rijnhout. This is made abundantly clear by his résumé: from his career at former export company Royal van Namen to his work at cross-dock service provider Fresh House, which was derived from Engels Enschede and later sold to Coop. Today, as importer for Jaguar, he is proud of his team and pleased that few have left the commercial department since he came on board. "The team is still the same as seven years ago, give or take a few guys. We have a rock-solid crew and work well together. I meddle as little as possible with day-to-day operations, but the boys can call me 24 hours a day. I don’t know the daily price of melons and strawberries, but I do know where Jaguar will be in five years.”
The Dutchman believes that the importer will always have some part to play on the market. “Sure there are changes, and in a way you continually have to reinvent yourself to stay relevant. Many retailers will try to sidestep the importer and go to the source directly. Our challenge is to add value to the chain and service our customers by streamlining procedures. Six years ago we chose specialization over generalisation, and we stick to that. I happen to think that we, as a broker, should be as knowledgeable as possible to be of proper service to our clients. All around us you see a decline in knowledge when it comes to incoming trade, especially under retailers. That’s not necessarily bad, as long as you’re adequately represented.”
“That is why,” Rijnhout argues, “I don’t think supermarkets will bypass importers in the future. On the contrary, I believe that retailers will increasingly rely on our expertise instead of venturing out themselves. Having a good importer in the chain, is allowing yourself to create a business model in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
Sustainability trademark
Two years ago Rijnhout tried to implement his own sustainability label. Too early, as it turned out: people weren’t yet ready to pay extra for a sustainable product. “But I’m fairly sure we’ll have one in the near future,” he says. “Recently, we were among those supporting the objective to make fresh fruit and vegetables from Central America, Africa and Asia more sustainable within the next 8 years. We actively pursue this goal, by collaborating with growers and retailers alike. Right now, we are working in South Africa to implement the ‘Social Initiative South Africa’ (SISA), ensuring education and housing for workers and rooting out child labour. And we take it seriously: it’s not about caressing our egos, but about making and upholding responsible products.”
Bright future
Perhaps not surprisingly, considering his service record, Rijnhout is confident about the future. “We still have ample possibilities to grow. By applying smarter systems, by being ahead of the curve, by becoming sustainable; in short, by adding value to the sector, I expect that by 2020 we will be a company with a strong brand and a solid reputation in customer service. We’ll still be independent, be it from a larger office. Our grapes and citrus department alone could very well double in size the next few years. For the coming year we have a number of exciting plans, and customers respond to them already. And remember: Jaguar does not equal Kees Rijnhout. If I were to leave, god forbid, there will still be a wonderful organization more than capable of facing the future.”
For more information:
Kees Rijnhout
Jaguar, The Fresh Company BV
Tel: 0031 180 750500
Email: [email protected]
www.jaguarfreshcompany.com
