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From /apa, April 9, 2024, 11:14 a.m
Image: REWE International AG/APA-Fotoservice/Ehm
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Image: REWE International AG/APA-Fotoservice/Ehm
VIENNA. Rewe Austria boss Marcel Haraszti is once once more pushing for a liberalization of shop opening times. Customer behavior has changed, argues the manager.
In an interview with the Austria Press Agency, Haraszti called for an extension from the current maximum of 72 hours to 80 hours between Monday and Saturday. The opening hours law is a “very nostalgic law”. Haraszti was satisfied with the sales and profit development last year.
However, Haraszti rejects the request of some retailers to open on Sundays. “I think it’s right that people are closed on Sunday. It’s the day of the family.” The Rewe Austria boss had already pushed for a liberalization of opening hours during the week in 2020. At that time, he suggested, for example, that branches in the city should be allowed to stay open until 11 p.m., while locations that are heavily frequented by commuters would be allowed to open from 6 a.m. in the morning. This is not possible because of the 72-hour rule per week.
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A “clear rejection” came immediately from the GPA union. “Expanding the opening hours would do a disservice to the attractiveness of the industry for employees. Employees are already suffering from enormous stress and work pressure due to a lack of staff. Expanding the opening hours would further aggravate the situation. Working hours from 6 a.m. and until 11 p.m. are neither employee-friendly nor family-friendly,” said the chairman of the trade sector in the GPA, Martin Müllauer.
Growth above inflation
The German Rewe Group increased gross total sales in Austria last year with Billa, Billa Plus, Bipa, Adeg and Rewe Austria Touristik by 9.6 percent to 10.45 billion euros. At the end of 2023, the retail group employed more than 47,000 people in almost 2,500 branches in this country. The food business grew by 9.1 percent to 9.3 billion euros, while Bipa’s revenues climbed by 13.2 percent to 940 million euros. For comparison: Inflation was 7.8 percent in 2023. In 2022, Billa Aktiengesellschaft’s net profit was around 27 million euros, according to the annual report filed in the commercial register. The annual financial statements for 2023 do not have to be published until next fall.
Image: rewe
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Image: rewe
In online trading, Billa’s 2023 sales amounted to 78 million euros and Bipa’s sales amounted to 25 million euros. There is no potential to make a profit in the short term, but it would be “fatal” not to offer this distribution channel, says Haraszti. According to its own information, Billa is the market leader in online grocery retail in Austria.
Rewe lost its market leadership in the domestic food trade to Spar a few years ago. Last year, the market share increased by 0.2 percentage points to 33.9 percent, but significantly less than that of its competitor Spar, which increased its share by 0.5 percentage points to 36.8 percent.
Around 20 branches are closing this year
Rewe is striving for healthy and sustainable growth, said Haraszti. Last year, 41 Billa stores were closed that were not profitable. Overall, shopping areas were reduced by 1.6 percent. Such a reduction in area has “never” been done before. Around 20 Billa branches are expected to close this year too. “If we were number 1 in terms of market share, we would no longer be able to close or clean up anything. We want to be number 1 in terms of customer perception,” said the manager.
The retail group is sticking to its goal of having around 100 Billa branches run by independent merchants by the end of 2026. So far, the “Kaufleute model” has been implemented at 10 locations. The Billa merchant holds 80 percent of the open partnership (OG) and Billa holds 20 percent. Haraszti referred to the positive development of the independent Adeg merchants and the cooperative roots of the German parent company Rewe. In Germany, the markets are operated as branches or by independent Rewe merchants.
“No moment to reduce actions”
The Rewe Austria boss rejected the more restrictive course of the campaigns in view of the high inflation. “Now is not the time to reduce actions,” said the trading chief. The company has reduced the prices of over 1,000 items, expanded the range of the cheap brand “Clever” and is offering discount picks 52 weeks instead of 40 weeks a year. The promotional share at Billa, Billa Plus & Co is currently almost 39 percent. “You can avoid going to the discount store,” said Haraszti.
For comparison: In Germany the promotional share is on average 12 to 15 percent. The trade manager once once more criticized the Chamber of Labor Price Monitor because it only compares food prices (non-reduced normal prices) between Austria and Germany. If you take into account the high proportion of promotions in Austria, “customers in Austria would get off very well”.
Own brands were also more in demand than usual due to inflation. Rewe recorded a 27 percent increase in sales for the cheap brand “Clever”, but the organic brands “Ja! Natural” and “Billa Bio” also grew by 10 and 18 percent respectively. In the past ten years, Rewe’s own brand share has increased from 22 to 32 percent.
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