ExpoReal 2010: REWE GROUP Is Expanding With Supermarkets, Discount Stores and Specialist Stores

Cologne/Munich, 04.10.10

More than 250 new locations for REWE, toom, PENNY, ProMarkt and toom DIY store

REWE Group sees the latest decisions by the German antitrust authority as a clear signal that the era of big takeovers is over in Germany. The Cologne-based Group is therefore concentrating on organic growth. This year alone REWE Group will open more than 240 REWE, toom and PENNY stores. The branch networks of toom DIY and ProMarkt stores are to be expanded by a total of ten locations per year.

With a view to factors such as demographic change, the intensifying debate on sustainability or the revitalisation of inner cities REWE Group prefers real estate locations near cities which also have good transport connections. Locations which offer the customer high-quality and comprehensive local shopping facilities close to where they live will further gain importance in the coming years.

"With its store formats, such as REWE City, REWE, REWE-Center, toom hypermarket or PENNY in food retailing, REWE Group is very successful with shopping floor space ranging from 500 to 5,000 square meters. We will continue to grow on the highly-contested German market. To achieve this goal we want the best stores in the best locations. In return we not only offer our partners the best operator quality but also secure rental earnings for decades", noted Frank Wiemer, member of REWE Group's Management Board, at the ExpoReal joint stand of REWE, PENNY, toom DIY store and ProMarkt (hall C2, stand 340) in Munich. The company needs partners with courage and vision.

"We are planning around 120 new REWE supermarkets. With the more than 180 REWE City supermarkets we now have, we are offering our customers high-quality local shopping amenities. We will therefore continue to pursue this concept. Furthermore, we also need partners who understand that sustainability is a central issue. According to the latest studies, buildings already account for 40 per cent of global energy consumption. With our frequently-awarded REWE Green Building in Berlin we have demonstrated that a building can consume 50 per cent less energy", commented Stephan Koof, head of national expansion at REWE.

PENNY now has around 2,400 locations throughout Germany. This year the discounter is planning to open about 120 new stores, which will have shopping floor spaces of approximately 800 square meters.

"Since 2008 PENNY has been on a qualitative growth course: by the end of this year around 400 new branch stores will be opened, with about 120 new ones in 2010 alone. From the company's point of view it is all the more important to not only take into account the use of green electricity but also sustainability aspects in constructing discount stores. PENNY therefore set up an ecological pilot project in Werne in the district of Unna in October 2009. The supermarket's outstanding feature is its extensive roof greening: this ensures that rain water slowly seeps down and benefits the groundwater. Modern daylight architecture creates a bright atmosphere in the supermarket. This alone achieves a 40 per cent saving on electricity. A combined heating-cooling system uses the waste heat from the refrigeration units to heat the supermarket. This makes the PENNY supermarket completely independent of fossil fuels, such as oil or gas", explained Dietmar Burtzlaff, head of national expansion at PENNY.

In addition to REWE and PENNY, the specialist stores of toom DIY and ProMarkt consumer electronics stores are also represented at the joint ExpoReal stand. toom DIY store has more than 370 locations: toom is investing heavily in developing its existing locations. Following the successful integration of the Marktkauf DIY stores, toom DIY is planning up to 5 new locations per year. The DIY stores have floor spaces measuring between 4,500 and 8,000 square meters. The catchment area must have at least 40,000 inhabitants. For this segment accessibility by car remains increasingly important. ProMarkt has successfully positioned itself on the fiercely contested German market for consumer electronics with stores having approximately 1,800 square meters of floor space. Good accessibility by car (at least 60 ground-level car parks) or by local public transport and the location with a good view of large-scale retailing companies are indispensable. Preferred real estate is located in areas with 25,000 inhabitants in the main centre of the town and more than 100,000 inhabitants in the catchment area. The comprehensive store network, which up to now has 70 branches, will be further expanded by 5 to 10 locations per year.

With a turnover of more than 50 billion euros and 330,000 employees, REWE Group is one of the leading trading and travel and tourism companies in Germany and Europe. The company, that was established more than 80 years ago, is present in 16 countries with more than 15,000 stores. The sales lines include supermarkets and hypermarkets, such as REWE, toom and BILLA, the discounter PENNY, the toom DIY stores and the electronics store ProMarkt. The travel and tourism division comprises the tour operators ITS, JAHN REISEN and TJAEREBORG as well as DERTOUR, MEIER’S WELTREISEN and ADAC REISEN, and about 2,500 travel agencies.  

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REWE GROUP-Corporate Communications
Tel.: 0221 - 149-1050
E-Mail: presse(at)rewe-group.com

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