Germany's largest grocer Edeka has announced plans to improve its operations in several fields, including organic food, the drugstore segment and digitalisation, Tagesspiegel has reported.
To enhance its organic assortment, the retailer is to introduce a new organic supermarket format, Naturkind.
The first Naturkind outlet will be opened this summer in Hamburg and, if successful, will be developed into a chain.
Moreover, its drugstore offering, in which it is present with the Budni brand, is also set to be expanded, with around 15 new stores set to open in 2019.
Success Of Edeka
In 2018, Edeka posted impressive growth, with turnover reaching €53.6 billion.
One of the main reasons for this growth have been the autonomous enterprises operating under the umbrella group of Edeka, which generated turnover of €27.6 billion.
This is a rise of 4.9% compared to the previous year.
"In a growing overall market, we were able to expand our market share", commented Edeka CEO Markus Mosa.
Digital Business
In terms of its digital business, Edeka is pursuing a number of projects, including a Food Tech Campus, which is a co-working space for start-ups in the food industry.
The retailer also operates the Bringmeister delivery service Bringmeister from the campus.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Jana Zimmermann. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.