Sligro Food Group was formed in 1935 as a wholesaler in margarine, fats and oils by Abel Slippens, the grandfather of the present chairman of the Executive Board. The product range was expanded in 1946 with the addition of food items. The first Sligro cash-and-carry wholesale outlet was opened in 1961 and formed the basis of the current network of 46 Sligro outlets across the Netherlands. In those years, food retail customers were the most important customer category.

The shares were admitted to listing on Euronext Amsterdam in 1989 at an issue price of NLG 52. After several share splits, the current price is EUR 1.18 per share.

Sligro Food Group’s history is one of acquisitions. Since the first acquisition in the early 1960s, there have been over a hundred more. A strategically important acquisition was that of Louwers in Eindhoven in 1987, which was a major step in securing a position as a supplier of a range of short-life perishables to the hospitality sector. The first delivery wholesaler to the hospitality sector was acquired in 1992 in the form of Arnhem family company Wunderink. Many more would follow.

With the acquisition of Van Hoeckel, which was completed in 1996, Sligro Food Group gained a substantial position in the institutional segment of the foodservice market. Because most of the group’s expansion was in the foodservice market, food retail’s share of sales gradually declined, but increased again strongly with the acquisition of Prisma Food Retail in January 2001. With over 300 affiliated supermarkets running four different formats, Prisma brought 400 employees and €325 million in sales to the group. This helped the group to achieve a milestone on 16 November 2001, when sales broke through the one billion euro barrier. Four years before, sales had breached the billion guilder (EUR 450 million) barrier. With the acquisition of EMTÉ Supermarkten in May 2002, Sligro Food Group entered the food market with its own supermarkets for the first time.

Sligro Food Group announced the acquisition of foodservice wholesaler VEN in 2004. In that year, VEN generated sales of EUR 227 million with a workforce of over 900. The acquisition of VEN significantly strengthened the position of our Sligro wholesale format in the foodservice market.

In May 2006, Sligro Food Group acquired Inversco, which supplies mainly short-life and long-life perishables and convenience products to large foodservice customers such as institutions, national chains and the large-scale hospitality sector. Inversco has its own meat-processing facility, a vegetable depot and three production facilities making convenience products. Inversco generated sales of EUR 132 million in 2006 with 450 employees.

In 2006, Sligro Food Group participated with Sperwer Holding in S&S Winkels, which acquired from Laurus its 223 company-run Edah supermarkets. The supermarkets which Sligro Food Group acquired have been incorporated into the EMTÉ and Golff store network. The transaction greatly strengthened Sligro Food Group’s position in the food retail market.

Thanks to a combination of acquisitions and organic growth that has been faster than total market growth, Sligro Food Group is now active in all the main segments of the food retail and foodservice markets in the Netherlands.