Channel players and physical distribution

Atmosphere in the supermarkets

The two supermarkets I visited are the Jumbo in Gorssel and the Albert Heijn XL in Zutphen. In these supermarkets, the atmosphere is calm and relaxed but because the Albert Heijn XL is a very large supermarket, the atmosphere there is not as nice as the atmosphere in a smaller supermarket like the Jumbo in Gorssel. In both supermarkets they play some soft music from the radio. The color that appears the most in the Jumbo is yellow and in the Albert Heijn it is blue, because these colors are in their logos. The Jumbo in Gorssel is a medium sized supermarket, and the Albert Heijn XL in Zutphen is a very large supermarket. In the Jumbo the personnel wears black polo’s, with the Jumbo logo on the back and front. Some personnel also have striped blouses with the colors white and yellow. In the Albert Heijn, the personnel wears blue blouses with their logo on it.

In the Jumbo in Gorssel, Amstel can be found in the fourth path of the supermarket. It is in the same path as crisps, toilet paper and food for pets. It is in the back of the supermarket, and I think this location has been chosen because beer is not a product that is necessary. It is important that the most necessary products are in the front of the shop because then it is easier for the customers. Also there is a age barrier on alcohol, so by placing it in the back of the supermarket, not many children will walk passed it.

In the Albert Heijn XL in Zutphen, Amstel can also be found in the back of the supermarket. The reason for this position is the same as for the Jumbo. Beer is not a necessary product, so it is not important to put it in the front of the supermarket and there is a age barrier on alcohol, so by putting it in the back of the supermarket there is a bigger chance that children avoid it.

Position of Amstel

Pictures of the shelves next to the Amstel shelve in the Jumbo in Gorssel:

As you can see on the pictures are the best known brands located at the left of Amstel, namely Heineken, Grolsch and Alfa. The own-label brand that can be found near Amstel is Dors, which is a beer brand from the Jumbo and can be found at the right of Amstel.

Pictures of the shelves next to the Amstel shelve in the Albert Heijn XL in Zutphen:

At the Albert Heijn XL in Zutphen the best known beer brands can be found at both sides of Amstel. At the left there is Heineken, which is a well-known beer brand all over the world, and at the right you have Grolsch, which is very popular in the eastern part of the Netherlands. Also there is Brand and Hertog Jan at the right of Amstel, which are also well-known beer brands in the Netherlands. Between Grolsch and Brand, Albert Heijn has its own beer brand, which is called Brouwers. 

Facings

In the Jumbo in Gorssel there fit 10 crates of Amstel in the shelves. This is less than its best known competitor, Grolsch. In the Jumbo Gorssel they’re able to place 36 crates of Grolsch in the shelves, which is 3 times more than Amstel. Heineken is not really a competitor for Amstel, as Amstel is produced by Heineken, but there are able to place 20 crates of Heineken in the shelves.

In the Albert Heijn XL in Zutphen there fit 18 crates of Amstel in the shelves. This is more than its best known competitor Grolsch, because there are able to place 16 crates of Grolsch in the shelves. It is also more as its competitor Hertog Jan, because there fit 12 crates of Hertog Jan in the shelves. The brand Heineken, which is not really a competitor as they also produce Amstel, has more place for their crates, because they are able to place about 40 crates in the shelves.

Transport, packaging and communication

Amstel is being transported to the supermarkets by trucks. The supermarkets buy the Amstel from different wholesalers all around the Netherlands. Almost all the crates of beer have the same measurements, because this is easier for the transportation. The supermarkets have standard orders, but they can change it when a product is running hard. For example there is a discount on Amstel, they will order more Amstel crates because more customers will buy it.