Albert Heijn stops selling knives shortly after the death of an employee | Economy

2023-07-07 18:50:40

Jul 07, 2023 at 2:53 PMUpdate: 4 hours ago

Supermarket chain Albert Heijn will stop selling knives in stores. This is confirmed by a spokesperson following reporting by NH News. In June, a supermarket employee was stabbed in a branch in The Hague, following which she died of her injuries.

According to a spokesman, the company is doing this because there is increasing aggression in society. “We don’t want to contribute to that development in any way.”

Albert Heijn does not want to comment on whether the death of the employee in the supermarket in The Hague influenced the decision. “We cannot comment on what happened in The Hague, because an investigation is ongoing.”

However, the supermarket chain had been working on the policy regarding the sale of knives for some time. “We have already introduced an age check and the second step is to completely stop selling knives in our stores,” says a spokesperson.

Other stores only sell knives to adults

It is still unclear when the knives will finally disappear from the shelves. In recent years, retail chains such as HEMA, Xenos and IKEA have already decided to only sell knives to adults. In 2020, the cabinet also called for this.

Various municipalities have also recently announced a ban on carrying knives. They did so in anticipation of a nationwide ban. For example, there has been a ban in Groningen since March and in Amsterdam since July. And earlier this week, The Hague mayor Jan van Zanen called for a ban in his city.

Albert Heijn also announced today that it would no longer sell tobacco in stores from January 2024. The cabinet will introduce a sales ban in the summer of 2024.

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