Reorganisation: A Milestone in REWE’s 80-Year History

Cologne, 09.11.06

Greater independence for strategic business units - Consistent orientation towards customers - Impact of supermarkets and discounters increased - New distribution of Management Board portfolios oriented towards sales

With an as yet unmatched reorganisation of Cologne-based REWE Group’s businesses and decision-making structures, the Management Board and Supervisory Board have surpassed a new milestone in the 80-year history of the company. The management steering roles that are of consequence for operative business will be moved from REWE Group’s central corporate departments to the level of the strategic business units. This will mean that now all decisions pertaining to sales, sales-line purchasing, marketing, expansion, controlling, human resources or accounting will be taken by those responsible for operative results.

The decentralisation plans for the commercial chain of responsibility passed by the committees is thoroughly within the co-operative traditions of REWE Group. "Independent entrepreneurial responsibility both among independent REWE retailers and among our chain stores will be greatly enhanced thanks to this action, thereby making this responsibility into the engine for successful progress for the company once again", said Alain Caparros, REWE Group CEO, in Cologne on Thursday (November 9). Taken together with the introduction of the new "REWE Group" umbrella brand and the unification of 3,000 supermarkets under the powerful new REWE sales brand, the reorganisation efforts amount to another quantum leap forward for REWE Group overall, Caparros explained.

Since the strategic business units such as toom BauMarkt DIY stores, the REWE Großverbraucher-Service bulk customer service, and foreign units have been made largely independent, decentralised decision-making structures are now to be created for the high-turnover sales lines of full-range national stores (11.5 billion euros in turnover) and national discount stores (5.7 billion euros).

The Management Board is convinced that "the consistent orientation of our whole organisation towards our sales lines is the best foundation for the necessary orientation towards the customer for more than just around 3,000 REWE stores and 2,000 PENNY discount stores in Germany". Management of central functions for competitive success – including product range, pricing, advertising, location, and service – is now to be centred at the strategic business units.

The shift of all operative services – excluding IT – to the business units will streamline and accelerate processes, bring REWE closer to its customers, and improve effectiveness. Especially the merchandise business will be strengthened by sales-line purchasing, which is much more extensively oriented towards customers and regional conditions. Concentrating "strategic purchasing" at the corporate level will also serve to enhance the position of REWE Group on procurement markets.

Rearrangement of Management Board Business Responsibilities

The REWE Group Supervisory Board, following the reorganisation oriented towards strategic business units, also rearranged the business portfolios of the Management Board members.

CEO Alain Caparros (50) is now to be in charge of the operative units for national discount stores, international full-range stores, and international discounters in addition to the classic responsibilities of the CEO: corporate communications, corporate marketing, strategy/corporate development, corporate legal affairs, corporate human resources, corporate auditing, and human resource development.

Management Board Member Dr. Stephan Fanderl (43) is to be responsible for the operative unit for national full-range stores and for logistics.

Frank Hensel (48) – also CEO of REWE Austria – has been assigned the operative portfolios of production and the central departments of strategic and international purchasing along with the European co-operation Coopernic.

Norbert Fiebig (47) is to be in charge of both the operative travel business unit as well as the departments of finance, corporate controlling, corporate accounting, IT, and real estate properties.

Josef Sanktjohanser (56), as yet in charge of the operative units for co-operations/participations, toom BauMarkt, and consumer electronics, has also been assigned to the cash-and-carry and food service business units. He is also responsible for public relations.

With a turnover of 41.7 billion euros, 260,000 employees, and 11,800 stores in 14 European countries, the REWE Group trading and travel company is the number three in European food retailing and wholesaling.

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

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