Press release

Announcement - ECR Europe becomes ECR Community

Prague, September 14th 2016

For more than 20 years, ECR Europe has been the focal point for consumer goods retailers and manufacturers to work together for the benefit of consumers across Europe. Now, its work will continue to grow under the new name of ECR Community.

The ECR Community is owned and managed by the ECR National Associations, which span Europe and the international ECR Shrink and On Shelf Availability group. These associations are supported by over 1,800 retailers, manufacturers and service providers.

Declan Carolan, CEO of ECR Ireland and Co-chair of ECR Community, said: “The changes to ECR have been made to streamline the system. Companies participate in huge numbers through their national ECR associations and many engage globally through the Consumer Goods Forum. But there is no longer a need for companies to join at a European level too, because the national organisations are doing all the co-ordination required.

“This fresh approach has given us renewed focus and energy, and we intend to be a stronger force for collaboration than ever.”

The mission of the ECR Community is “Transforming the way we work together to fulfil consumer wishes better, faster and at less cost”. Through the Community, national associations work together on a wide range of activities and materials, the first of which has recently been published. “Best Practice in Implementing VMI” (Vendor Managed Inventory) is a guide that pulls together expertise and experience across Europe. It includes theory and practical tools and is free to download at

Other ECR activities underway, at a national or international level, include:

  • Sell More, Waste Less – a programme managed by the ECR Shrink & OSA Group to help retailers reduce losses from their stores and improve on-shelf availability
  • Influencing the Shopper – best practice in category management and shopper marketing
  • Logistics Pooling – guidance for companies on how to combine forces to improve efficiency
  • Food Waste reduction – a series of activities to minimise food waste throughout the food chain, including by channelling products to people in need
  • Omni-channel retailing – advice on how to combine “bricks and clicks” to deliver the best overall service to consumers

Joanne Denney-Finch, Chief Executive of IGD, said: “As the owners of ECR UK, we are delighted to be founder members of the ECR Community. We are great believers in sharing and learning from others. The international heritage of ECR is immense and has made a big impact on the thinking and practices of the food and grocery industry. We are committed to help build an ever brighter future for our industry.”

“Czech FMCG market is highly competitive with high level of promotional activities”, said TorbenEmborg, CEO of Nestlé Česko and co-chair of CZ-SK ECR Initiativeand continued: “Such situationputs challenges in front of us, which are best overcome through cooperation between suppliers and retailers”. JozefŠimo, Head of SC Planning, Makro ČR C&C and co-chair of CZ-SK ECR Initiative commented: “As a part of Metro group, the 4th biggest European retailer, we are convinced, that collaboration principles must become the foundation of our relationships with our suppliers. Thanks to the 20 years of WORKING TOGETHER experience, we have the privilege ofbenefiting from the experience and best European practice concentrated in ECR Community and ECR National network.

Czech&Slovak ECR is an Efficient Consumer Response Initiative in Czech Republic and Slovakia. Czech&Slovak ECR is a collaborative retailer-manufacturer platform with a mission “To fulfill consumer wishes better, faster at less cost and in sustainable way”. It is a non-profit organization which aims to help retailers and manufacturers in the FMCG & retail sector to drive supply chain efficiencies and deliver business growth and consumer value. Czech&Slovak ECR is a member of ECR Community in Europe.

For more information, please contact:

Czech & Slovak ECR Initiative:

Tomas Martoch
Tel.: +420737235 507
E-Mail: