German hypermarket chain Globus Group will fuse its international branded consumer-goods business with retail alliance European Marketing Distribution (EMD) by 2017, it recently announced.
From 1 January, the company will incorporate the total volume from its Russian and Czech locations into EMD agreements. There are 11 international Globus megastores in Russia and 15 in the Czech Republic.
At the same time, different contracts relating to purchasing and marketing volumes in its German hypermarkets will be combined in EMD agreements with branded product manufacturers.
This decision will help the company increase its market penetration in the Czech Republic and Germany, according to the release. Its ties with the alliance can help it expand its position as a leading European retailer, using EMD's combined resources.
In the three markets, Globus SB-Warenhaus Holding GmbH & Co. KG owns a total of 171 storefronts, including DIY and consumer-electronics stores in Germany and Luxembourg.
EMD is the premier buying group for the food-retail sector. Headquartered in Switzerland, it has a potential turnover of €178 billion.
Some retail heavy-hitters are part of the group. At the beginning of the year, Wal-Mart subsidiary Asda joined the EMD alliance. German retailer Kaufland Group also made a deal with EMD to manage its branded product purchasing in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria.
The association operates in 20 European countries, representing about 400 trading companies and more than 150,000 points of sale in many distribution sectors, but mainly in grocery retail.
Armin Gärtner, a member of the board at Globus responsible for purchasing, commented, "We know and appreciate this group association, which is active throughout Europe as an especially powerful alliance. The decision to integrate our purchasing and marketing volumes for Globus [in EMD] enhances additionally our already strong market presence."
The Globus Group had a total turnover of more than €7 billion in 2015.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Karen Henderson. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
