Germany’s REWE Group is testing a new cashierless store format for rural areas and the outskirts of towns.
‘Josefs nahkauf BOX’, in the Upper Franconian municipality of Pettstadt, is offering fresh food and everyday products to around 2,000 people living in the municipality.
Located at Ohmstraße 15, the so-called ‘walk-in store’ features a sales area of approximately 39 square metres and operates round-the-clock, seven days a week.
REWE divisional board member, Peter Maly, said, “In Germany alone, there are around 8,000 underserved settlement areas in which people have to travel long distances to buy groceries every day.
“Our ‘nahkauf’ format, which secures local supply where all the competitors have withdrawn, is perfect for this. In addition, with this project, we are once again proving that we are one of the most innovative companies in Germany when it comes to buying groceries.”
Product Assortment
The product assortment includes around 700 items, ranging from fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy and frozen products to dry goods, non-alcoholic drinks, toothbrushes and cigarette machines.
The store focuses on REWE’s own-brand items, organic products, as well as goods from regional and local suppliers.
Customers can pay with their electronic cards and credit cards at the store, the retailer added.
Pettstadt's first mayor Jochen Hack, said, commented, “Local supply is an important building block for the attractiveness of a municipality. With the new ‘nahkauf’ concept, an important piece of the puzzle is coming to Pettstadt as part of our further development."
With a special focus on local goods, ‘nahkauf’ stores are operated by independent merchants, or occasionally by municipal or non-profit initiatives.
Local Food Supply
Florian Sörensen, sales manager at nahkauf National, said, “With the 'nahkauf-BOX' in Pettstadt, we are consistently pursuing the path of being an innovative and reliable partner, even in the smallest of communities."
The ‘nahkauf’ store in Pettstadt is jointly run by merchants Josef Sier and Thomas Scheuring.
Josef Sier commented, “As the operator of five ‘nahkauf’ stores, it has always been my concern to create shopping opportunities for groceries for the residents of places and regions where there is and will be no local supply.
“In this respect, I was immediately convinced of the concept of this new type of local supply, especially for the non-mobile part of the population.”
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
