In a time when supermarkets are responding to the trends of convenience, elderly and smaller households, Tangermarkt is successful with volume sales. The retail chain focused on multicultural society now has 15 branches in urban areas in the Netherlands (10) and Belgium (5). “To us, it’s not important to make much money, but to surprise people with low prices. We want people to start talking about us,” says Mohamed Benkhallouk, manager of Tangermarket Amsterdam and Kiel (Belgium).
At the Tangermarkt, the fresh produce department is the shop’s show piece. “When the shop allows it, we place the fresh produce department near the entrance. By closing off the department, we keep the room as cold as possible, for larger shops the room is actively cooled as well.”
The fresh produce sourcing is taken care of centrally by the main branch in Amsterdam. “Because we buy large amounts, we can maintain very sharp prices. Volume is more important than the highest quality.” Customers also buy large volumes, although it has become less over the years. “In the past, customers bought 20-kilogram bags of potatoes. We no longer have those, it’s just too heavy. We now have bags of 5 kilograms, customers often buy two of these at once, just as with the onions. Potatoes and onions are important ingredients in tajine.”
Customers of the Tangermarkt aren’t interested in convenience. The cooled shelves do have pre-packed lettuce mixes and volume bags of radish, but no ready-to-cook (soup) vegetables. “Processed products aren’t that popular with our customers. They want to cook the vegetables as fresh as possible themselves.”
The range consists of products that have a high turnover rate. Besides the potatoes, onions, lettuce and radish mentioned before, there’s also loose sales of many different varieties of bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and in summer the typical giant watermelons and specialities such as okra, plantains, papaya and tamarind. Dutch vegetables such as leek and cauliflower are also for sale, but a popular Northern European product like asparagus won’t be found in the shop, even if it’s cheap during the season.
Tangermarkt was founded 30 years ago as a neighbourhood supermarket in The Hague, and gradually expanded to more branches. Around 2010, the fourth branch opened and the shop could start calling itself a chain. The branch in Kiel (Antwerp) opened in August last year. The building became available when AH merged with Delhaize and had to give up shop space as a result. Another former AH branch in Leiden was also recently converted into a Tangermarkt.