Case Study: Makro achieves company-wide real-time collaboration and cultural transformation with Workplace from Meta

Makro Reinventing communication to embrace a rapidly changing retail landscape

Makro, the Netherlands’ first wholesaler with roughly 3,500 employees across 17 stores, faced a major communications challenge: most staff were frontline and unplugged, and Director of Communications Merel van Fessem relied on slow, top-down channels (paper memos and slide decks) to reach them. Working with consultant Nextnovate, Makro selected Workplace from Meta to create a single, social communications platform that could connect leadership directly with store teams and surface real‑time customer insights.

Workplace from Meta was rolled out as a central hub with categorized channels, store news and social groups, and closed management spaces, while the CEO used the platform to highlight weekly #MakroHero moments and engage employees directly. The change connected every employee (about 3,500) to one platform, replaced legacy channels, tightened quality assurance and decision-making, increased peer-to-peer collaboration, and led the CEO to require Workplace use for contracted staff with a goal of 100% adoption.

Makro

Paulo Peereboom

Chief Executive Officer