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REWE Group

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REWE Group
Company typePrivate. Cooperative, Joint-stock company
IndustryRetailing
PredecessorStüssgen Edit this on Wikidata
Founded1927 (current form 1972)
Headquarters
Cologne
,
Germany
Key people
Lionel Souque, CEO
Heinz-Bert Zander, Chairman
ProductsDepartment stores, Supermarkets, Convenience stores, Cash&Carry, Hypermarkets, Home improvement, etc.
Revenue€84.4 billion (2022)
491,400,000 Euro (2017) Edit this on Wikidata
337,800,000 Euro (2017) Edit this on Wikidata
Total assets19,506,400,000 Euro (2017) Edit this on Wikidata
Number of employees
363,633 (2019)
Websitewww.rewe-group.com

The REWE Group is a German diversified retail and tourism co-operative group based in Cologne, Germany. The name REWE comes from Revisionsverband der Westkauf-Genossenschaften", meaning "Western Buying Co-operatives Auditing Association".

History

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REWE-Zentralfinanz eG forms the parent company of the co-operative, whilst the operational business is controlled by the subsidiary entitled REWE-Zentral AG.[1] The international business is bundled under the umbrella of Rewe International.[2]

The basis of the co-operative trade group consists of a network of independent retailers. Sales lines include Billa, Penny, Rewe, Toom, DER Touristik Germany, as well as ITS Reisen and Lekkerland.[3]

In the 2022 financial year, the REWE Group had total external sales of €84.4 billion.[4] The REWE Group is the second largest supermarket chain in Germany behind EDEKA.

1927-1945

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In 1927, the Auditing Association of Westkauf Cooperatives, also known as Rewe, began offering purchasing services in Cologne.[5] Their aim was to promote independent retailers by facilitating collective bargaining at competitive rates.[6] Early product offerings most frequently traded included hazelnuts, dried apricots and raisins.[7] In order to gain further advantages, in the 1930s cooperatives began to influence the shop fittings and advertising of affiliated outlets,[8] this was accompanied by the introduction of uniform lettering to the affiliated outlets in 1932.[7]

In 1935, several purchasing cooperatives from Central Germany merged with Rewe.[7] To enable further growth, district centers were developed each of which, to this day, form the foundation of Rewe's business structure.[9] Alongside this, during the 1930s, Rewe gradually began to expand outside the traditional Rhenish-Westphalian area. In 1940, Rewe had a membership of 8,000 people with 106 cooperatives registered.[6] The Second World War had a disruptive effect on the trading group as essential goods had become scarce and many shop-owners had to go to the front for military service. To counter this, Rewe diversified into production. Subsequently, a significant part of their administration was destroyed by bombing resulting in the company being almost unable to function at the close of war.[10]

1946-1972

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Following the end of the war, Rewe resumed activities in August 1945. After the wartime headquarters had been relocated to Fredeburg and Bödefeld due to the approaching front, Rewe returned to Cologne. The division of Germany into sectors resulted in restricted work and the gradual emergence of branches in West Germany and West Berlin.[10] Shortage of basic supplies such as sugar, prompted the introduction of the first trademarks in 1949, with Rewe Dreistern covering flour, salt and table oil, margarine being supplied under the Replica Kronjuwel brand.[11][12] As reconstruction took place, Rewe became increasingly decentralised, and by 1960 their member companies had returned to over 100.[6]

Several takeovers of supermarkets and chains in the 1960s and 1970s led to a broad range of brands and formats.[6] In 1971, there were talks between Rewe and Edeka about a potential merger, which could have accounted for approximately 25% of the market.[13][14] Ultimately, due to antitrust concerns, the project was not implemented.[15] In 1972, the partnership model still used today was introduced, following the previously independent regional cooperatives ceding management functions to Rewe headquarters in 1968.[15] The head office was converted into a joint-stock company whose wholesaler shareholders went on to manage all central services and sales promotion.[16]

Divisions

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Trading

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  • REWE – supermarket chain in Germany with 3,300 stores.
  • BILLA – supermarket chain with over 1,000 stores in Austria and 400 stores in other European countries
  • Penny – discount supermarket chain with 3,000 stores in Germany, Austria, Italy, Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic
  • nahkauf – convenience store operator in Germany.
  • toom BauMarkt – A DIY/home improvement chain with 250 stores in Germany
  • Billa Plus – supermarket chain with 100 stores in Austria (formerly known as Merkur)
  • BIPA – health and beauty retail chain with 560 stores in Austria and 58 stores in Croatia
  • REWE Ihr Kaufpark – supermarket chain with 120 stores in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany (formerly known as Kaufpark)
  • Palink – supermarket chain in Lithuania

Tourism

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DER Touristik is the tourism division of Rewe Group:

In June 2015 DER acquired Kuoni Travel's European tour operations.[18]

Country ranking in 2006

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Country No. of Stores Sales (million euros)
Germany 8939 31220 M€
Austria 1901 4618 M€
Italy 337 1736 M€
France* - 1140 M€
Romania 65 1050 M€
Switzerland* 22 904 M€
Czech Republic 245 844 M€
Poland 33 679 M€
Hungary 200 667 M€
Slovakia 117 274 M€
Croatia 50 215 M€
Bulgaria 110 – M€
Russia 69 – M€
Ukraine 21 68 M€
  • *Sales of retail activities

Digital Business

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In 2013, the REWE Group founded a subsidiary named REWE Digital, which is responsible for all strategic online activities.[19] The group also acquired the e-commerce platform vendor commercetools[20] and ZooRoyal, an e-commerce website for animal food and pet supplies.[21] In 2017 REWE Group announced to make additional investments in the billions in order to further digitalize their business.[22] In 2020 REWE digital, for the first time, spun-off one of its business units and founded the independent company OC Fulfillment GmbH, vendor of the omnichannel fulfillment software-as-a-service platform fulfillmenttools.[23] In 2021 REWE Group announced the inception of Paymenttools, provider of on- and offline payment solutions for retailers.[24]

Cassis de Dijon

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In 1979, Rewe won a significant case in the European Court of Justice, the Cassis de Dijon case.

References

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  1. ^ Hillebrand, Walter; Zdral, Wolfgang (17 January 2008). "Das unersättliche Imperium". Capital.
  2. ^ Österreichs Lebensader, Niederösterreichische Nachrichten, 16. October 2017, page 5
  3. ^ "Struktur und Vertriebslinien". REWE Group (in German). Archived from the original on 2023-08-18. Retrieved 2023-08-18.
  4. ^ "REWE Group navigiert erfolgreich und stabil durch das Krisenjahr 2022". REWE Group (in German). Archived from the original on 2023-05-29. Retrieved 2023-08-18.
  5. ^ Sauer, Stefan (1 April 2015). "Super-Macht der Super-Märkte". Berliner Zeitung.
  6. ^ a b c d "90 Jahre REWE – eine Erfolgsgeschichte". REWE Presse (in German). Archived from the original on 2023-08-18. Retrieved 2023-08-18.
  7. ^ a b c REWE Group. "1927-1938 Unternehmensgeschichte". www.rewe-group.com. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  8. ^ Gruber, Marc (2000). Der Wandel von Erfolgsfaktoren mittelständischer Unternehmen. DUV Wirtschaftswissenschaft. Wiesbaden: Dt. Univ.-Verl. p. 142. ISBN 3-8244-0536-9.
  9. ^ Albrecht, Gerhard (1965). Die soziale Funktion des Genossenschaftswesens. Abhandlungen und Vorträge. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot Verlag. p. 163.
  10. ^ a b REWE Group. "1939-1969: Unternehmensgeschichte". www.rewe-group.com. Archived from the original on 16 April 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  11. ^ "Agreement der Importeure". Der Spiegel (in German). 1950-12-24. ISSN 2195-1349. Archived from the original on 2022-02-27. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  12. ^ "Die 20-Prozent-Marke rückt näher Rewe. Mit eigenen Labels Sortimente optimiert". Lebensmittel-Zeitung. 25 April 1997.
  13. ^ "Neue Riesen". Der Spiegel (in German). 1971-03-14. ISSN 2195-1349. Archived from the original on 2022-11-29. Retrieved 2023-08-18.
  14. ^ Eglau, Hans Otto (4 June 1971). "Wenn die Edeke mit der Rewe..." Die Zeit. Archived from the original on 18 August 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  15. ^ a b "Arme Genossen". Der Spiegel (in German). 1971-06-13. ISSN 2195-1349. Archived from the original on 2023-08-18. Retrieved 2023-08-18.
  16. ^ REWE Group. "1970-1979 Unternehmensgeschichte". www.rewe-group.com. Archived from the original on 2023-08-18. Retrieved 2023-08-18.
  17. ^ ADAC Reisen Archived 2009-12-21 at the Wayback Machine – Specialist for mobile holidays
  18. ^ Gretler, Corinne. "Kuoni Sells European Tour Operating Business to Rewe Group" Archived 2017-12-02 at the Wayback Machine, Bloomberg Business, 22 June 2015. Accessed 7 July 2015.
  19. ^ "REWE digital - Provider of online solutions in markets relevant to REWE Group". Archived from the original on August 29, 2019. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  20. ^ "REWE Digital acquires e-commerce software provider commercetools GmbH". March 31, 2015. Archived from the original on 2019-10-21. Retrieved 2019-08-29.
  21. ^ "ZooRoyal - der Onlineshop für Ihr Haustier". Archived from the original on August 29, 2019. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  22. ^ Michael Pohlgeers (2017-10-16). "Rewe investiert Milliarden in die Digitalisierung". Archived from the original on 2024-05-04. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
  23. ^ Jürgen Diercks (2020-09-11). "Rewe digital gründet Start-up für Handelsplattform". Archived from the original on 2022-06-13. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
  24. ^ Stephan Lamprecht. "Rewe Gruppe gründet Payment-Technologietochter". Archived from the original on 2024-05-04. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
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