The third photo shoot in a series of German retailers is taking place in Cologne in Globus. This supermarket is led by Jochem Wolthuis who attended the German Desk GroentenFruithuis NRW Retail and Food Trend Tour. Globus won the Retail Award from Fruchthandel (fruit trade) Magazine in 2010, 2012, and 2014. The award is given to the retailer with the best fruit and vegetable department according to German customers. These are big supermarkets ranging from 7,000 to 10,000 m2.
In order to get to the fruit and vegetable department customers must first go through an assortment of non-food and the special 'regional products' department. The regional products come from the area, no further than 50 km from the store. Andre Zorzytski, assortment manager, gives the group a tour. The wooden displays gives the department a different feel, not your typical supermarket feel. On the shelves things like milk, beer, and chips can be found, and also canned fruits and vegetables and fresh products such as cabbage.
In order to get to the fruit and vegetable department customers must first go through an assortment of non-food and the special 'regional products' department. The regional products come from the area, no further than 50 km from the store. Andre Zorzytski, assortment manager, gives the group a tour. The wooden displays gives the department a different feel, not your typical supermarket feel. On the shelves things like milk, beer, and chips can be found, and also canned fruits and vegetables and fresh products such as cabbage.
The fruit and vegetable department at this Globus is 400 m2. That is relatively small: the fruit and vegetable departments in Globus branches are 400-600 m2 and can sometimes be as large as 1000 m2. The newest Globus branch, which just opened this month in Koblenz, has a fruit and vegetable department that is 600 m2. The assortment includes 350 - 500 articles. During weekdays deliveries are made every day, and in the weekend twice a day. In the fruit and vegetable department the diverse products are spread out on different displays, organized by product. Baskets and wooden trays are used in some places to give a rustic feeling - although a lot of products are in crates as well.
The prices of fifteen popular products are adapted to the discounters. Iceberg lettuce and 'stoplight packaged peppers' are among these fifteen items. Apart from these popular products, the focus is on quality says Zorzytski. "Tomorrow they will forget the price, but they won't forget the taste." Globus Gold is a label for 20-30 exclusive products with a very high level of quality. The rest of the shelf space is left for specialities. There are two sorts of Kumato-tomatoes, yellow cherries, coeur de boeufs and innovative packaging like the Toma-Shake. There are posters on the walls portraying a few of the growers. What is striking is the low proportion of Dutch products in mid-September.
The prices of fifteen popular products are adapted to the discounters. Iceberg lettuce and 'stoplight packaged peppers' are among these fifteen items. Apart from these popular products, the focus is on quality says Zorzytski. "Tomorrow they will forget the price, but they won't forget the taste." Globus Gold is a label for 20-30 exclusive products with a very high level of quality. The rest of the shelf space is left for specialities. There are two sorts of Kumato-tomatoes, yellow cherries, coeur de boeufs and innovative packaging like the Toma-Shake. There are posters on the walls portraying a few of the growers. What is striking is the low proportion of Dutch products in mid-September.
Left - Andre Zorzytski discusses the fruit and vegetable department.
Right - a part of the Globus Gold supply
Right - a part of the Globus Gold supply
Globus's fruit and vegetable department has won many prizes, but they have to continue investing in order to get customers to come into their stores. There are advertisements placed in brochures, magazines, local newspapers, flyers, on the radio and on online. The branch also has a few restaurants, from Globus and from other independent entrepreneurs. Next to the supermarket there is a gas station, also owned by Globus. "There is a lot of traffic in this area so customers have to invest some time to come out here," explains Zorzytski. "We have to offer more and more in order to get customers to come out to our store." That is why there is a strong focus on the training of our personnel. They can follow a recognized course, not only to help the customers, but also so they can learn about the quality of the products and how to insure the quality stays.