Drugstores in the Netherlands are calling on people to stop buying large quantities of medicines. There is enough for everyone, so only buy what you need, Kruidvat, Etos, DA, DIO, Trekpleister and independent drugstores said in a full-page advertisement published in the national newspapers on Friday.
"In recent days, we have noticed that many consumers are buying more over-the-counter medicines than usual," the drugstores said. "Then it may happen that we have to tell the next customer 'no'."
With nearly a third of grocery stores open on Christmas Day in the Netherlands this year, and over two-thirds in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague, there is growing concern about the increased pressure placed on retail workers during the December holiday season. The Netherlands is becoming increasingly influenced by foreign holidays and shopping behavior, and that is having a negative impact on work environments in the retail sector, suggests FNV union leader Linda Vermeulen.
Lidl Nederland will be the first supermarket to stop selling cigarettes. The chain announced that it will phase out sales until no more cigarettes are sold in Lidl Nederland stores by 2022 at the latest, ANP reports.
According to the supermarket chain, the sales figures for cigarettes declined over the past years and cigarette sales are no longer profitable. But Lidl also took measures to discourage the sale of smoking products, like placing all cigarettes out of sight in stores last year.
French baby formula producer Lactalis is recalling over 12 million packages of its baby formula from stores in a total of 83 countries, including the Netherlands, due to concerns that the products may be contaminated with salmonella. "This is a preventative recall, worldwide and also from the Netherlands", a spokesperson for Lactalis said to AD.
Drugstore Kruidvat recalled a coloring book after realizing that it contained a picture of Adolf Hitler. The drugstore noticed the picture only after customers pointed it out on social media. "The book was in the store for half a day on Monday and several dozen were sold", a spokesperson for Kruidvat said to NU.nl. "We're going to figure out how this could happen."
An ATM bombing on Monseigneur Zwijsenplein in Kerkdriel around 4:00 a.m. on Monday morning left two buildings on fire. Surrounding buildings were evacuated.
According to Brabants Dagblad, the fire started in The Read Shop, a store that sells books and magazines, and then spread to the adjacent Kruidvat. The Hema is also filled with smoke. Firefighters managed to get the fire under control around 8:30 a.m. The Read Shop and Kruidvat sustained significant damage and can be considered lost.
A 16-year-old boy from Eemnes was arrested on Monday morning in connection with two armed robberies in Huizen last year, the police announced.
Lodewijk Asscher, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, has set aside 14 million euros over the next two years to help unemployed young people find work by putting them in direct contact with employers. The aim is to get 23 thousand young people off of benefits and into paid jobs within the next two years.
A man robbed the Kruidvat on Amsterdamsestraatweg in Utrecht on Saturday using a small model crossbow. The police are looking for witnesses.
Purchasers of a Smurf-shaped lamp from Kruidvat or Trekpleister are being called to return it to the store. The adapter of the lamp does not match safety requirements. It may short circuit, which may result in an electric shock for the user.
Stores often refuse to take old light-bulbs for recycling. Despite an increasing number of stores getting collection bins for old light bulbs to be recycled, a sixth of stores still refuse these light bulbs or simply throw them away.
Minister of Security and Justice Ivo Opstelten made the three millionth contactless payment in the Netherlands on Monday. The purchase was made at a Kruidvat in Leidschendam, with Opstelten speaking to reporters about advances in technology paving the way for Dutch consumers to keep their wallets in their pockets at the checkout counter.
Dutch retail, pharmacy and drugstore chain Kruidvat is recalling all baby cribs with the brand Bambino. Children could suffocate on some of the bed's parts. This is the second Bambino baby bed that Kruidvat has had to recall.
Police in Tilburg are investigating a curious multiple theft. A persistent toothbrush thief targeted several Kruidvat stores several times in recent months.
Wakker Dier announced on Sunday that from August on, no plofkip will be used anymore in baby food of the drugstore chain Kruidvat.
Kruidvat writes in a letter to Wakker Dier that ‘the use of plofkip is not in accordance with the aim, to choose as much as possible for responsible ingredients’. A plofkip is a chicken which is brought in a short time to a desired weight, with all kind of negative effects for the chicken itself.
