{"id":28147,"date":"2026-03-24T13:43:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T12:43:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/?p=28147"},"modified":"2026-03-25T13:59:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T12:59:44","slug":"counterquestion-why-should-a-woman-hesitate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/press-and-media\/newsroom\/stories\/counterquestion-why-should-a-woman-hesitate\/","title":{"rendered":"“Counterquestion: Why should a woman hesitate?”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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16 March 2026<\/p>\n

“Encourage, support, ask questions”<\/h2> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n <\/button>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Ms. Agelidu, you decided to go into self-employment for yourself by opening a REWE supermarket in Cologne, which you successfully managed for many years. What was the deciding factor that led you to take this step?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Debora <\/span>Agelidu<\/span>: <\/span><\/strong>My son wasn\u2019t the only deciding factor, but he was certainly one of them. He completed his apprenticeship at REWE and now works here with me at the store. When I heard that the stores were going to be privatized, I went through the assessment center in November 2024 just to be on the safe side. I figured that if an opportunity came up and I was still up for it and in the mood for an adventure like that \u2014 then I\u2019d already have this \u201clicense to be an entrepreneur\u201d in my pocket. Last summer, I found out that my store was up for sale. And this store here is my baby. And if my baby is being sold \u2014 and my big baby, my son, works here\u2026 For me, it was a wonderful coincidence, and I expressed my interest.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The coincidence came to you <\/span>to your aid<\/span>. But does it take courage <\/span>?<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Debora <\/span>Agelidu<\/span>:<\/span><\/strong>I\u2019ve always had courage. As someone who switched careers, I know exactly what I\u2019m capable of and how much I can achieve. And because I was a single parent, I have a lot of self-confidence. Being self-employed is now my chance to start a family business and pass it on to my son, securing a future for him. For a mother, there\u2019s nothing better than that. It\u2019s good to know that he\u2019s protected within the cooperative. Actually, this cooperative is great. You don\u2019t have to reinvent the wheel; you help each other, share experiences, and even swap extra flour sometimes. I\u2019m not alone there\u2014my network keeps growing and growing.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Being self-employed is now my chance to start a family business and pass it on to my son, securing a future for him. For a mother, there\u2019s nothing better than that. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/div>\n

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Debora Agelidu, REWE independent retailer<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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Debora Agelidu, REWE independent retailer<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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You\u2019re becoming self-employes at the age of 57\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Debora <\/span>Agelid<\/span>:<\/span><\/strong>\u2026a wonderful age, right in the middle of my life. My grandfather and my great-grandfather both lived past 100; I have good genes, and I don\u2019t feel old. And this job keeps my mind young and sharp: new technology, new expertise, new ideas, new products. As someone who switched careers, I\u2019ve learned so much at REWE. You always have to stay open-minded, let life flow, and embrace whatever comes your way.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Many female colleagues hesitate to take the step of starting their own business; only about 20 percent of business owners are women. What are your reasons for taking this step?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Debora <\/span>Agelidu<\/span>: <\/span><\/strong>Counterquestion: Why should I hesitate at all? Shouldn\u2019t I rather ask myself: What do I have to lose? You can only learn from the experience. Unfortunately, most women don\u2019t live up to their full potential. Many don\u2019t dare to take the plunge. Yet most women are so well-organized. They manage their jobs, households, and children. After all, work is primarily about organization. The rest can be learned\u2014leading people is something you can learn. Because: Who communicates more, us women or men?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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What does it take to run a market successfully?<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Debora <\/span>Agelidu<\/span>: <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>It takes a passion for the job, for food<\/span> but also for the work with the team, the contact with the customers. <\/span>For me, it’s just the right thing. <\/span>I’m a people person. And I am greek. I love food. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Finally, a question: Based on your professional experience, what advice would you give your son and future colleagues?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Debora <\/span>Agelidu<\/span>: <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>I want him to enjoy doing his job. And that he knows: The more you give in life, <\/span>umso<\/span> you get more in return<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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    Join the discussion on <\/h2>\n
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    Our LinkedIn feed has all the latest information from the REWE Group and the sector, with the most important developments from the worlds of retail, e-commerce, food, CSR and policy.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

    \n \n To LinkedIn feed <\/a>\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n

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    Debora Agelidu has laid the foundations for her family business: At the age of 57, confident, self-assured, with and for her son, the experienced REWE store manager set up her own business. For the Cologne native, self-employment is not a matter of courage, but of confidence in her own abilities as a senior manager. For example: organizing and communicating. And who, according to Agelidu, can do that better than women? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":28098,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"1840,14083,1491,44256,40470,1907","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","nl_adhoc_sent":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"sales_line":[19],"focus_theme":[142],"class_list":["post-28147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-company","sales_line-rewe-group","focus_theme-undefined"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28147"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28163,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28147\/revisions\/28163"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28147"},{"taxonomy":"sales_line","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sales_line?post=28147"},{"taxonomy":"focus_theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/focus_theme?post=28147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}