European Retail Round Table

European Retail Round Table
AbbreviationERRT
Merged intoEuroCommerce
Formation1999; 26 years ago (1999)[1]
Dissolved2020; 5 years ago (2020)
TypeTrade association
HeadquartersBrussels, Belgium[2]
Region served
Europe
Websiteerrt.org (archived)

The European Retail Round Table (ERRT) was a Brussels-based association that brought together the chief executives of major European retail groups to engage with EU institutions on single market, competition, sustainability and supply-chain issues.[3] It merged into EuroCommerce in November 2019 and ceased operations in 2020.[4]

History

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ERRT was active by 1999 and was based at Square de Meeûs 35, Brussels.[5][6] Its policy work addressed the European single market for retail, including digital and cross-border issues, as set out in a 2015 position paper to the European Commission.[7]

In 1999 ERRT convened a GMO working group (chaired by Lucy Neville-Rolfe of Tesco) and, in consultation with EuroCommerce, issued a discussion paper on GMOs in food setting out retailers’ views on labelling and risk communication. The paper supported an EU-wide labelling regime (including derivatives and additives), a very low threshold for adventitious presence, validated testing methods, and segregation/traceability along the supply chain; it also reported several large retailers removing GM ingredients from own-brand products in response to consumer concerns.[8]

ERRT was a founding association behind The Supply Chain Initiative (2013), promoting fair-trading practices across the food supply chain;[9] worked with the Commission and EuroCommerce on the Retail Forum for Sustainability and the Retailers’ Environmental Action Programme (REAP);[10] and acted as secretariat to the Timber Retail Coalition (Carrefour, IKEA, Kingfisher, Marks & Spencer), which advocated EU rules on legally and responsibly sourced timber.[11] Under the Retail Forum for Sustainability, ERRT coordinated the voluntary Retail Agreement on Waste and published a 2016 report summarising signatories’ actions to prevent and reduce waste across operations and supply chains.[12]

On 7 November 2019, ERRT and EuroCommerce announced that they would merge their activities, with ERRT's functions integrated into EuroCommerce; ERRT ceased operations in 2020. [13]

Members

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Company Membership Notes
Ahold Delhaize 1999–2020 As Royal Ahold until 2016, when merged with Delhaize Group.
C&A 1999–2018
Carrefour 1999–2016
Delhaize Group 1999–2016 Merged with Royal Ahold in 2016.
Dixons Group 1999–2009 Rebranded as DSG international in 2005; now Currys plc.
Kingfisher plc 1999–2012
Marks & Spencer 1999–2019
Metro AG 1999–2019
J Sainsbury 1999–2005
Promodès 1999 Merged into Carrefour in 1999.
Tesco 1999–2018
El Corte Inglés 2000–2020
IKEA 2000–2019
Gruppo Coin 2002–2004
Asda 2004–2017
Inditex 2005–2020
H&M 2006–2016
Mercadona 2006–2019
Auchan 2013–2016
ICA Gruppen 2013–2020
Jerónimo Martins 2013–2020
Lidl 2013–2019
Dansk Supermarked 2014–2016 Company now known as Salling Group.
Ceconomy 2017–2020 Spun off from Metro AG in 2017.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ European e-Business Report 2002/2003 (PDF) (Report). European Commission – eBusiness W@tch. March 2003. p. 157. Retrieved 8 November 2025. References include "ERRT (European Retail Round Table) (1999): Retailing in Europe: A dynamic force driving employment opportunities."
  2. ^ "Data Privacy Policy – The Supply Chain Initiative". SupplyChainInitiative.eu. Retrieved 8 November 2025. "The European Retail Round Table (ERRT), Square de Meeûs 35, B-1000 Brussels".
  3. ^ "ERRT Position on the EU Single Market" (PDF). European Commission. December 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  4. ^ "European Retail Round Table". LobbyFacts. Retrieved 8 November 2025. "No longer registered as of 31 Jan 2020."
  5. ^ European e-Business Report 2002/2003 (PDF) (Report). European Commission – eBusiness W@tch. March 2003. p. 176. Retrieved 8 November 2025. Lists "ERRT (1999): Retailing in Europe: A dynamic force driving employment opportunities."
  6. ^ "Data Privacy Policy – The Supply Chain Initiative". SupplyChainInitiative.eu. Retrieved 8 November 2025. "The European Retail Round Table (ERRT), Square de Meeûs 35, B-1000 Brussels".
  7. ^ "ERRT Position on the EU Single Market" (PDF). European Commission. December 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  8. ^ Discussion paper on genetically modified organisms in food (PDF) (Report). European Retail Round Table. 1999. pp. 2, 5–11. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  9. ^ "The Supply Chain Initiative". EuroCommerce. Retrieved 8 November 2025. EU-level associations include ERRT and EuroCommerce.
  10. ^ "Retail Forum for Sustainability: 10 years of cooperation" (PDF) (Press release). EuroCommerce. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  11. ^ "Timber Retail Coalition". Sustainable Forest Products (WRI/WBCSD directory). Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  12. ^ ERRT Retail Agreement on Waste — Report (PDF) (Report). European Retail Round Table. 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  13. ^ "EuroCommerce and the European Retail Round Table to join forces" (Press release). EuroCommerce. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
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