Xummum - a new business concept is being tried out in Holland

Xummum in Ermelo is to be the first location of a chain store that could spread  throughout Holland. On 5th October 2006 the first store, with 200 m2 of retail space, opened its doors. A striking name, an unusual entrepreneur and a vibrant impression supported by warm tones in the colour scheme and ambience. The aim of this combination is, above all, to attract new customers. As a consultant to the Dutch retailers association NWO, Willemien Blankenaauw has developed and implemented a new concept.

Picture: The Xummum team with Willemien Blankenaauw (second from left)

On the invitation to the opening that was distributed to 22,000 households in Ermelo were the words ‘At last!’, words uttered by the people who the business man Willemien Blankenaauw had told about the idea of the new shop. “There is a big group of pepole who do not feel their needs are being met by the classical wholefood stores, so the aim of the new approach is to reach out to precisely this target group. Transparency, freshness, inviting appearance, taste and an eye to people living locally – these are the ideas on which the Xummum concept is based. But don’t get too complicated.” Although the name Xummum is a neologism that is intended to make the customer think, it is derived from the word ‘sum’.

In the first three days it was open, at the beginning of October 2006, Xummum attracted more than 1200 people who spent money in the store, in other words almost 5 % of the population of Ermelo. This seems to indicate that the primary objective was achieved, namely to appeal to new customers. The manager Martijn Lievestro was delighted with such a promising launch. The fact that a week earlier a smaller wholefood store had closed proved to be to the advantage of the new store. The magazine BioFood estimates that the store can expect a turnover of € 12,000–15,000 a week in the initial phase. The store that closed (120 m²) had a turnover of € 8000 a week.

The fate of the smaller store is the reason why the terms ‘organic’ and ‘wholefood’ do not feature in the name of this organisation or in the description of the store. A kitchen has been integrated into the store to increase the sense of fun and to make everything open to view. Mr Blankenaauw takes great pleasure in explaining: “There is always something you can taste and try out, and we want to give groups the opportunity to do some cooking here for themselves. So we are going to organise cookery workshops.” He has arranged the involvement of local organic farmers (picture) and a wine dealer in order to raise the sense of community. “You can see full-size photos of them hanging in the store, and every now and again they will give presentations and hold tasting sessions.” All of which is a good idea to associate ‘local heroes’ with the store.

By no means does Mr Blankenaauw want to dissociate himself from the traditional wholefood store. “When I was myself searching for the direction to follow, I visited lots of shops at home and abroad, and what has impressed me most is the passion of both the entrepreneurs and the customers. That’s a powerful force. When you feel connected, quite different things can happen. But as well as that, I saw new opportunities, especially in introducing economically viable management. My starting point is asking: ‘Why are we on this earth, what is the value added and how can you make use of it?’ We recognised our mission and communicated our vision. I saw some fine examples of this kind of thing in London, but it takes a lot of skill to set something up that will reach out to the customer in the immediate vicinity.”

The immediate vicinity of the first Xummum store is a community that is hardly well known for being progressive. “But if this pioneering store can make a go of it in this location, the underlying ideas can be applied practically anywhere,” says Mr Blankenaauw. “We could have started up in Amsterdam or The Hague but that only tells you that it works in the big cities.”

He has a clear view regarding idealism. “People with an idealistic approach often find it difficult to make a profit. But you can turn it the other way round as well. If you don’t make a profit, you can’t grow, you don’t create jobs and you don’t appeal to new customers. My training in all aspects of the hotel business gave me an interest in good food and drink. I also got interested in the slow food movement, and this led me to read about manipulation in respect of food. You simply have to make a profit to put your ideals into practice.”

Mr Blankenaauw puts great value on management, which for her is an important cultural key: “A business consists of a number of strands: goods, customers, money and staff. 80 %-90 % of processes can be standardised, and I have consciously decided to do just that.” Management information is the tool with which processes are controlled. This information also reveals where the team has achieved success. As well as having an official function, each colleague plays an individual role and takes responsibility. The function of a manager is to develop a structure and organisation. There has to be someone with technical expertise, and there has to be someone to perform a creative role. This results in a team in which the roles complement each other. “I work according to the so-called seven cultural keys, including taking responsibility, getting involved and taking pleasure in the work. Behaviour is, in my opinion, more important than knowledge, because you can learn facts more easily than new behaviour. When we appoint new staff, I pay special attention to behaviour. Everybody is given responsibility, even the part-timers at the weekend. Everybody has space to operate, and they are allowed to make mistakes.”

Despite its dark colour (picture), the façade of the store is easily recognisable. It is nice and wide, just like the entrance, and is inviting. The store gives the impression of freshness, with clear layout and presentation of dry goods on metal shelving. There is room to move around and, in the lively cookery area, lots of cooking and tasting goes on. The yellow floor creates a warm impression. The walls are light blue in colour.

The colour specialist Marja Molljn was brought in to select the colours, and she based her choice mainly on far eastern colour schemes and American colour management styles. Yellow was chosen as the basic colour (floor and logo), standing for sunlight and own identity. Yellow has a stimulating effect, and it is also the colour of communication and mutual respect. The second colour, dark brown (part of the fittings and the logo), is the basic colour of soil. The light blue of the walls and ceiling stands for expression and is the link between earth elements. Finally, a fine line of fresh green has been incorporated to indicate the arrival of a new spring.

“We think it is important to be able to taste things in a wholefood shop, so that’s why we have set up lots of places in Xummum where customers can taste and test products, and with the in-house kitchen you can appeal to far more customers than with the usual tasting sessions.” The Association of  Wholefood Stores (Natuurwinkelorganisatie – NWO) would like to find out to what extent new customers can be attracted by more sampling of products and a bistro. A second Xummum experimental store is to follow with twice as much retail space. Moreover, Xummum refuses to submit to the call for price reductions. They intend to pay the producer a decent price, and dumping prices have no part to play.