TIBBETT & BRITTEN SIGNS RETAIL CONTRACT IN HUNGARY

TIBBETT & BRITTEN SIGNS RETAIL CONTRACT IN HUNGARY

   Tibbett & Britten Hungaria Kft, a subsidiary of Tibbett & Britten Group plc, has signed a long-term, open-book contract with Csemege-Match of Hungary to provide warehousing and secondary distribution services for its Match and Smatch supermarket chains throughout the country.

   The deal is valued at about '7 million (about $10.9 million) and is for up to six years.

   Csemege-Match is part of the French-based multinational retail group, Match Supermarkets. The company, which had handled its logistics in-house, has transferred to Tibbett & Britten the operation of its 258,000-square-foot dedicated multi-temperature distribution center in Vecses, southeast of Budapest.

   The location handles some 6,300 products, or SKUs, of food and non-food merchandise, including chilled food, fresh produce, and ambient dry goods. Delivery volumes are about 1,000 pallets a day.

   Tibbett & Britten has built a staff of 300 for the contract, including 47 people who have transferred from Csemege. Besides warehousing, cross-docking, picking and order assembly, the company is also responsible for deliveries to 133 Match/Smatch supermarkets throughout Hungary, and Csemege's chain of 19 Alfa cash and carriers.