In a high-profile ruling, a court in Den Bosch, Netherlands, has sided with the country’s second largest supermarket chain Jumbo in its pricing dispute with Heineken, stating the retailer is not obligated to continue purchasing and selling the brewer’s full beer assortment. This verdict followed Heineken’s urgent legal attempt to compel Jumbo to resume full supply after commercial ties weakened over disagreements on pricing (inside.beer, 9.5.2025).
The legal conflict stemmed from Jumbo's 2023 move to join Everest, an international purchasing alliance including Germany’s Edeka and France’s Aura, which strengthened the supermarket’s negotiation power with suppliers. Shortly after joining the alliance, Jumbo terminated its long-standing but informal distribution arrangement with Heineken, citing excessive price increases and labeling them “bizarre.”
While Heineken accused Jumbo of a “boycott,” asserting the conflict was tied to unrelated price disputes between Heineken France and Everest members, the court dismissed this argument as irrelevant. The judge confirmed that the agreement between both parties — based for decades on informal, renewable one- or two-year terms — had been legally ended by Jumbo in early 2023. Therefore, Jumbo no longer had any obligation to continue stocking all Heineken beers.
However, the court acknowledged that Jumbo's abrupt termination of the decades-long relationship was inappropriate. Given the mutual dependency and commercial history, the judge suggested that a formal notice period should have been honored, and that offering Heineken financial compensation could be appropriate.
Heineken and Jumbo each underscored the aspects of the ruling favorable to them. Jumbo expressed willingness to resume full product availability under fair pricing, while continuing to offer alternative brands in the meantime. Beers still available on Jumbo shelves include Heineken in crates, Heineken 0.0, Amstel, Brand, and Texels Skuumkoppe.
The case is one of many high-stakes pricing disputes involving Jumbo, which has previously delisted or restricted products from companies like Red Bull, Danone, Mondelez, Dr. Oetker, Coca-Cola, and Kraft Heinz, often leaving empty shelves during price wars..
