According to Huub van Rozendaal, financial director of Sligro Food Group, no supermarket chain knows yet how to capitalise on the Internet boom. "Along with wholesalers we are one of the largest on-line suppliers, but for supermarkets this is not really working yet and is likely to remain so for some time."
"We have tried unmanned collection points (the on-line shopping service Superdirect.com, which went bankrupt last year), but clients didn't find the model clear. They expect the same as in the store, like cheap crates of beer, but we do that to get people into the store. For on-line sales, that is not needed. Via the Internet, the products can also be fresher because you remove one link (the store) from the distribution chain, but this is not yet the perception consumers have. The concept has just not managed to gain acceptance yet, and for non-food items the situation is much harder," says Van Rozendaal.