EDEKA Südbayern has successfully completed the integration of the Tengelmann supermarkets. This week, the two last Tengelmann supermarkets were converted, of the more than 170 locations in the southern Bavaria region, to the EDEKA brand.
“Thanks to an impressive team effort of all the departments, we succeeded to keep to this challenging schedule and take on this major challenge together,” stated Claus Hollinger, Managing Director of EDEKA Südbayern. “The takeover by EDEKA creates possibilities for the future and secures jobs in the region."
On the 1st of October 2017, EDEKA Südbayern took over all contracts of the former Tengelmann employees in the Munich-Oberbayern region. This includes employees of the Birkenhof butchers in Donauwörth, the administration department in Munich and the logistics center in Eching.
Since mid-July, an average of 14 supermarkets per week have been converted to EDEKA brand. Part of this huge conversion challenge was the adjustment of the infrastructure, to the more modern, EDEKA-owned, warehouse management system LUNAR with the automatic article availability registration. At the same time, the stores assortment was adjusted and expanded and naturally, the attractive value for money products of EDEKA’s own brand were added. Even some supermarket modernization took place within these few weeks. What is more, a total of eleven supermarkets were completely rebuilt.
Additional adjustments and modernizations are already scheduled. “Although the conversion is complete, the optimization of the new stores hasn’t finished,” emphasized Claus Hollinger. “We regard this as an ongoing process and we will continue to contribute new ideas to food retailers in southern Bavaria." In order to grow, EDEKA continues to invest in attractive and future-oriented retail locations in southern Bavaria, stated Hollinger.
EDEKA xpress: the birth of a new concept
The takeover of the Tengelmann branches has led to a completely new store concept in the EDEKA range. About 50 locations will become EDEKA xpress supermarkets. These smaller corner stores, fewer than 600 square meters, and their assortment, will meet the shopping habits of customers living in cities and can be found in Munich, Starnberg, Freising, Augsburg as well as in Bad Tölz.
Large advertising campaign for “Unity”
Around the Day of German Unity, (3 October) EDEKA Südbayern initiated a large advertising campaign with the slogan “Auch wir feiern die Einheit“, German for “We celebrate unity too”. Together with its customers EDEKA celebrates the successfully completed conversion of more than 170 supermarkets.