Germany’s EDEKA strikes back
German grocery retail giant and market leader EDEKA is testing a new convenience retail format called EDEKA Express. Retailing groceries represents the heart, history and future of the EDEKA Group.
More than 100 years ago EDEKA arose from a co-operative alliance of independent merchants, today EDEKA is Germany’s leading group of grocery retailers with about 11,400 stores and 346,800 employees; generating an annual turnover of €48.4 billion.
Nationwide over 4,000 self-employed retailers are the public face of EDEKA. At retail level, they supply first-class and exquisite groceries. Seven regional wholesale businesses supply the retailers on a daily basis and provide support in terms of distribution and expansion; one of them is testing the new c-store format in its region.
A team of nine are serving the convenience customers from 7am-7pm, Monday to Saturday in the pedestrian zone of a small town called Hildesheim in Lower Saxony, near Hannover, in Germany’s countryside.
Whilst seating is available by the windows inside, there are an additional 60 seats outside, which reflects the new idea of immediate consumption at EDEKA Express. The differentiator from the local market is the high production of fresh on-site snacks.
Free WiFi and power stations for mobile devices should reflect the needs of the millennial generation and their digital lifestyle. Three quick and easily-accessible cashier points makes the customer experience, even at peak times, very convenient.
A Wawa-like, centrally located counter
A Wawa-like, centrally located counter is the heart of the new concept, with a 200m2 floor space and an assortment of 1,000 skus, the intended assortment is reflecting what the modern on-the-move consumers want from a c-store: Grab & Go foodservice solutions.
It includes, easily accessible via self-serve merchandise racks, as used in the German self-service bakery shops: fruit, salad, sushi and bakery items for everyday are presented next to sharp, streamlined, top-seller oriented convenience food, sweets and drinks.
After one year of format development time, parallel to the test of EDEKAs big rival REWE’s To-Go c-store format at BP/Aral sites, it looks like the German forecourt industry is following the route of the more advanced convenience markets in terms of co-operations and partnerships with retail partners.
