Deutschland, Deutschland über alles!

It is no wonder that German retailers are preparing enthusiastically for the European Cup, as the success of the World Cup held two years ago surpassed all expectations. Rewe for example, declares proudly that they are one of the official suppliers of the German national team. The German retail sector serving 82 million consumers with exceptionally high purchasing power represents enormous economic potential. There are 16,000 discount stores and 2,500 hyper markets in Germany. The 5 biggest retail chains account for 70 per cent of the total retail market. All five (Metro, Rewe, Lidl, Aldi and Edeka) hold market shares of 11-17 per cent, which translate to annual revenues of EUR 25-35 billion. Hard discount stores have a market share of 40 per cent in the retail sector. Their assortments are limited, though they have recently begun to stock brand products as well. According to tests, the private labels of Lidl and Aldi are by no means inferior to brand products and price is not the only factor which attracts customers. The abundance of discount stores means that regardless where we are, there is always one nearby. Sweet-free cash register are a German invention intended for housewives fed up with having to buy sweets for the kids each time they go shopping. The beverage market is another German speciality (found in real hyper markets). As Germans buy an enormous quantity of beverages in returnable packaging, a separate department is dedicated to selling these and handling the returned bottles. Small display cabinets for local products are yet another Real feature. Automatic cash registers where customers scan bar codes for themselves are also great. I have seen enormous progress compared to the recent past. Fruits have always been beautiful, even perfect, unlike the ones we see in Hungarian hyper markets. Now, they not only look good, but also taste good. The abundance of premium category, foreign brands is remarkable. Alcohol shelves full of French brandies are a good example. It looks like football is the only area where Germans prefer “Deutschland über alles.”