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Many want to boycott Kiwi after a story in a local newspaper, but the chain believes they have been completely misrepresented.
On Tuesday, Dagsavisen Fremtiden wrote that store manager Inge Holtlien (48) in Kiwi in Mjøndalen in Drammen municipality must resign after 31 years due to a central conflict with Kiwi.
– Chain managers haven’t put as much effort into the way we operate before, but now they want all stores to have exactly the same rules. Therefore, there was no place for me here anymore, he tells the newspaper.
One reason should be disagreements about how many employees they should have. At the same time, store employees have delivered goods to customers who cannot go to the store, and the store has sponsored cultural life in Mjøndalen with NOK 15 million for the past 30 years. According to Holtlien, Kiwi management does not want them to continue this.
The store he runs with his father, Vidar, is a franchise-owned store. This means that they run the store within the Kiwi concept and pay a percentage of the billing to the chain centrally. Much of the proceeds that remain, the store has given to the local community for several years.
– That we get less profit does not affect the Kiwi chain. We compensate you as required by the agreement. What it affects is the bonus you could get as a store manager, Holtlien tells Dagsavisen.
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Threat to boycott
The news has attracted much attention in the local community, and the local community supports Holtlien, Eikerbladet writes. So do other people. In fact, several have taken to Twitter to show their discontent.
– Wow, the Kiwi chain wants us to boycott them. What is this treatment of employees? These chain stores must end soon and we must start cooperatives. Simpler, supportive and socially beneficial, write a user on Twitterand get support in the comment section.
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We also see support for the boycott among the comments on other Twitter posts.
– This is terribly bad. Kiwi has been, so far, my favorite grocery chain, but I won’t put my legs there again until they are tapered. Fyfasan so ashamed, write another user.
Another thinks one should boycott all Norgesgruppen stores, which owns, among other things, Kiwi and Meny.
– It is not the reason for a possible change of ownership
Several agree that the Fremtiden newspaper story is sensational.
– This is so fucked up. @KIWISJEFEN kicks out a franchisee because the franchisee, after the concert chain has had its share, gives too much of its own benefits to the local community. Kiwis obviously fear the signal effect of such exemplary corporate citizenship, write one.
However, Kiwi Norway CEO Jan Paul Bjørkøy has commented on the post, and says this is not true.
It is not a conflict, but a good and constructive dialogue. Nothing has been decided and we are awaiting feedback from franchisee Vidar Holtlien, he writes.
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The Kiwi boss also writes that the case is heavily biased in the media.
– As in most other media cases, this also has two different sides. But we emphasize that support for local sports and cultural life is not the reason for the conversations about a possible change of ownership, He comments.
Denies the dismissal
The Fremtiden newspaper wrote on Tuesday that Reiulf Thorsen, director of the franchise-owned Kiwi stores in the Oslofjord region, said that Inge Holtlien would not be able to continue as store manager with the terms he himself still wants.
Eikerbladet, however, was told otherwise by the regional manager when interviewed after the Dagsavisen Fremtiden case was published.
– This is not true, said it was claimed that Kiwi demanded that the store manager, Inge Holtlien, leave because she gives too much to the local community.
Kristine Aakvaag, Arvin’s head of communications in Kiwi, also confirms this to Nettavisen and at the same time says that Inge Holtlien is still the store manager.
– There have been non-binding conversations about a possible change of ownership, but this ownership dialogue has not been related to supporting local sporting and cultural life, Arvin notes.
– On the contrary, we want visible and good store managers who contribute to the local environment, he adds.
However, Arvin emphasizes that it is the franchisee Vidar Holtlien, Inge’s father, who has the responsibility of the staff and decides who will be the manager of the store.
Additional operation discussed
On Wednesday, Kiwi, franchisee Vidar Holtlien and store manager Inge Holtlien met to discuss other operations. So far, there have been non-binding talks about a possible change of ownership in relation to a generational change in the store, and there has been talk of selling the store to Kiwi.
Now, however, it has become clear that the Kiwi store in Mjøndalen will continue as before, with Vidar Holtlien as the franchisee and his son as the store manager.
Like the statements of the Kiwi boss on Twitter, Arvin in Kiwi also says that the image drawn in the media is not correct.
– This boring case has been skewed in the media. As with most other media cases, this case also has different sides and we ask for it to be understood that unfortunately we cannot go into all the details for different reasons, he says.
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– Holtlien has been a part of the Kiwi family for more than 30 years, and we are so grateful for the efforts they have made, says Arvin.
The reactions that have emerged on Twitter, where several call for a boycott of kiwis, Arvin believes is a sign that the Holtlien family is strong in Mjøndalen.
– This commitment only shows that the family has made a great effort for many years in the area. At the same time, the reactions come after what we think is a skewed presentation, he says.
The online newspaper has been unable to contact Inge Holtlien.
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