NV Big FoodPresentation, organization and activitiesNV Big Food (hereinafter Big Food) is a large supermarket chain with branches throughout the Netherlands, born at the end of the last century from the merger between Supermarkets De Vries NV and Klimax Food Group BV. The supermarket company Big Food is one of the largest players in the Dutch food industry, with a market share of around 15%. Big Food serves the market with different store formulas: “Cheap and Delicious” (G&L), “Quality and Affordable” (K&B) and “Decent and Good Service” (G&G). Big Food currently has 24,000 employees, 700 supermarkets and three distribution warehouses. The organization is guided by a Board of Directors. The distribution depots and stores are managed by company managers. Stores are divided into departments where a specific type of food is offered. A manager has been appointed for each department. Administration and Automation, as well as the central Purchasing and Sales departments, are located at the headquarters in Amsterdam. The goods are delivered by the suppliers to the three distribution depots. The shops are supplied from these depots using our trucks. Developments in the area The Dutch food market, in which Big Food operates, is a saturated market in which a relatively limited number of players are active. Characteristic of such a "crowding-out market" is that a price war takes place from time to time, in which one side lowers consumer prices in an attempt to increase its market share. Price reductions are usually followed by other parties, with the result that the operating results of all affected market parties are under pressure. The negative consequences of a price war can be partly limited by implementing an efficiency operation and making the organization more flexible. Internal environment Big Food has suffered significant losses in recent years. This is despite the downward trend in turnover for all store formulas coming to an end in the last quarter of 2006. Big Food has done everything in its power in recent years to ensure the company's recovery. Clear choices have been made and great efforts have been made. Important progress has been made in the back office (purchasing, automation and logistics), which has been brought to a high degree of efficiency. Furthermore, important progress has been made in the field of cost control. Strategic choices Big Food has recently carried out a strategic reorientation. Consequently it was decided: · Improvement of the financial position through, among other things, the sale of stores · Improvement of focus by reducing the number of store formulas to the G&G formula alone;;