| De Sperwer U.A. | |
| Trade Name: | PLUS |
| Former Name: | Plusmarkt |
| Type: | Coöperatie uitsluiting van aansprakelijkheid (Co-operative society exempt from liability) |
| Industry: | Retailing |
| Hq Location City: | Utrecht |
| Hq Location Country: | Netherlands |
| Num Locations: | 270 shops |
| Num Locations Year: | 2020 |
| Area Served: | Netherlands |
| Revenue: | €2.61 billion |
| Revenue Year: | 2019 |
| Members: | 259 shop owners |
| Members Year: | 2020 |
De Sperwer U.A., whose members trade as PLUS (in Dutch; Flemish pronounced as /plʏs/) under licence from PLUS Holding B.V., is a Dutch co-operative supermarket chain headquartered in Utrecht. Its 259 members operate, as ‘independent entrepreneurs,’ 270 stores across the Netherlands.[1] In 2019 the members had total revenues of €2.6 billion[2] and an overall 6.5% share of the Dutch grocery market.[3]
The PLUS formula was created in 1988 as Plusmarkt, replacing De Sperwer's previous 4 = 6 supermarket chain. In 2001, Plusmarkt was rebranded as PLUS. Online shopping, with the option of home delivery or in-store collection, was introduced at some branches in 2015.
In 2006, as part of a consortium takeover with Sligro, De Sperwer purchased eighty branches of Edah from Laurus and converted them all to PLUS.[4] De Sperwer also unsuccessfully attempted to take over Super de Boer and Emté in 2009 and 2018 respectively.[5]
On 6 September 2021 it was announced the supermarket chains Plus and Coop have reached an agreement on a merger. The stores will continue under the name Plus, the name Coop will disappear. The combined organization is expected to become operational early next year.[6]
Stores operated under the PLUS brand are owned and operated by 259 ‘independent entrepreneurs’ who are all members of the De Sperwer co-operative. PLUS Holding B.V. licenses the PLUS formula to them and runs large-scale marketing campaigns on their behalf.[7] The chain's market power is increased through membership of the Superunie purchasers’ co-operative. The PLUS organization has its headquarters in Utrecht. It also operates three national and three regional distribution centres.
In a 2013 survey by MarketResponse, PLUS was named ‘most customer-friendly company in the Netherlands.’[8] It was also ‘most customer-friendly supermarket’ in the same survey in 2018[9] and 2019.[10]
PLUS has scored highest among Dutch supermarkets in annual surveys by GfK several times: in the meat category each year from 2017 to 2019;[11] [12] in the bread category in 2019;[13] in the corporate social responsibility category each year from 2015 to 2019;[14] and in the wine category each year from 2013 to 2018.[15] [16]