Kaufland

Kaufland is a retail grocery chain Schwarz Beteiligungs GmbH, based in Neckarsulm, 1070 hypermarkets, of which 620 operates in Europe, in Germany, in different sizes, locations and with different assortments. It is part of the Schwarz Group, which also includes the food discounter Lidl heard.

Generally

The Kaufland Stiftung & Co. KG is part of the complex corporate structure of the Black -Beteiligungs -GmbH, which is located gGmbH 99.9 % owned by Dieter Schwarz or the Dieter Schwarz Foundation. Among the various Kaufland subsidiaries include the Black Realty Management GmbH & Co. KG, which is owned by the hypermarkets, and Kaufland goods Handelsgesellschaft mbH as operator of self-service stores.

Currently, the Group operates over 1,000 stores in Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, Croatia, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Romania. The shops each have a surface 2200-15000 sqm. Some branches use the extended in many states store opening times and therefore are from Monday to Saturday 6 to 22 clock and 24 clock and opened some up to 2 clock at night.

History

The beginnings of buying country date back to the year 1930. At this time, Josef Schwarz became a personally liable partner (general partner ) in the tropical fruit wholesale business Lidl & Co. in Heilbronn. The company was renamed " Lidl & Schwarz KG " and expanded rapidly become a wholesaler for the entire food trade. After the company had been destroyed in 1944, the Reconstruction was completed within ten years. The company was awarded in 1954 in Heilbronn again a private residence and entered in the same year in the "A & O chain " one. With the trade and Fruchthof Heilbronn GmbH the first camp was opened in Northern Württemberg in 1960. 1964 expanded the company from its offering and established the first meat department. 1968 the first supermarket was opened under the name Handelshof in Backnang, 1977 at the same place the first hypermarket under the same name.

After Josef Schwarz in 1977 died at the age of 74 years, his son Dieter Schwarz took over the management of the company. Opened in 1984 in Neckarsulm - since 1972 the seat of the corporate headquarters - the first hypermarket under the name buying land.

After the reunification of Germany the food chain expanded in the new federal states and opened many markets there. The first East German Kaufland store was established in 1990 in Meissen. Opened in 1994 in Zwickau, the first " buying market SB department store ." Opened in 1998 in Kladno in the Czech Republic the first Kaufland branch abroad. In subsequent years, the company in Slovakia could (since 2000 ), Croatia ( 2001), Poland ( 2001), Romania (2005 ) and Bulgaria (2006) to gain a foothold. In Romania, protested in January and March 2007 Kaufland employees and independent clubs in Bucharest against the exploitative working conditions in the stores of the chain. In June 2007 article published in Business Week and in the mirror over the illegal purchase and planned demolition of stadiums by buying land in the cities of Sighisoara ( Sighisoara ) and Arad in Transylvania. In order to prevent the demolition, local environmental protection groups have filed a lawsuit with the Administrative Court in Târgu Mureş.

2006 and 2007 was followed by further store openings in Germany, also took Kaufland branches of competing companies. Currently (February 2009), Kaufland claims to have 73,000 employees.

On 9 December 2009, the Karl Lupus GmbH & Co. KG said in a press release, the intention of their previous twelve stores the famila commercial establishments GmbH & Co. KG Rhein-Neckar and the cash-and -carry market with lupus Foodservice 1,400 employees to purchase land to sell. Subject to approval by antitrust authorities, the transfer is to take place on 1 February 2010.

In December 2009, Kaufland announced in the industrial area on the A 38 at Heiligenstadt in Thuringia for 85 million euros until 2013 [ deprecated] to build a new meat processing plant. Around 400 local employees will then deliver about 45,000 tons of meat per year at the 600 Group-owned stores.

January 1, 2010 Kaufland has taken four hypermarkets Schlecker ( Schleckerland ) in Ehingen Geislingen, Göppingen and Schwäbisch Gmünd, rebuilt and converted to the Kaufland concept.

On 26 April 2010 the conversion of the purchase market stores in Kaufland was completed.

In November 2010, Kaufland Group introduced a minimum wage of 8.50 euros for their employees. Since March 1, 2011, this minimum wage applies to all employees of external service providers that operate on the basis of a contract or under a temporary employment at Kaufland. From 1 March 2012, the minimum wage was raised to 9.00 euros.

End of March 2011, the previous RATIO markets were taken in Osnabrück and Hagen.

In October 2011, all stores were renamed Handelshof in Greater Heilbronn in Kaufland. Along with the name change, were remodeling and line extensions. The complete conversion of all West German Handelshof stores was completed by the end of 2011.

Range

Kaufland distributes both branded also many lower-priced brands.

Bakeries

Since 1994, Kaufland has its own bakeries. Launched in Dessau, Leipzig and Chemnitz project will complement the range of packaged baked goods on the shelves.

Cultura Vini

With " Cultura Vini " (translated means " wine culture " ) Kaufland offers since 2009 its own range of wines with special logo at. The wines come from growing regions in Germany, France, Italy and the USA ( California).

K -Bio

Since 2009, Kaufland offers over 100 products of its own brand "K -Bio" with organic seal, which comply with the EC Organic Regulation.

K -Classic

In October 2003, Kaufland resulted in his warehouses were the discount brand " K- Classic". The introduction of this brand is to long-term customer loyalty to the company, as a kind of corporate identity is created. Furthermore, this approach facilitates the internal list of all articles by shorter EAN codes and uniform packaging dimensions. In this way, the company can optimize the placement of its products.

K -Classic wellyou

Since 2008, Kaufland offers under the brand K -Classic wellyou to its own product rail with products for health-conscious diet that also contain no preservatives, sweeteners and flavor enhancer monosodium glutamate.

K -Classic CONCEPT

End of 2009, Kaufland added to its range -counter drugs with your own logo.

Purland / K- Purland

Purland since 1985 its own brand of meat Kaufland Group. In August 2011, the brand name was changed for better identification with the Kaufland Group to K- Purland. A company- own meat plant in Moeckmuehl has approximately 400 employees. Another meat factory is in Osterfeld and produced in Heilbronn purchase land with around 500 employees sausage and Kassel. Another meat plant in the Holy City from 2013 to employ an additional 400 employees. The meat and sausage sales in the department stores is divided into self-service meat and sausage shelves and in meat and sausage - service counters (for the most part pure sausage - service counters ).

Kaufland Travel

Since the end of 2010 in cooperation with the tourism company BigXtra Touristik GmbH (Munich), FTS Fly & Travel Service GmbH (Essen ), Hermes Touristik GmbH & Co. KG (Hamburg) and Medi Plus Reisen GmbH (Bonn) also travel packages, flight packages and cruises offered.

Advertising

With the TIP Werbeverlag, which has its headquarters in the adjacent Heilbronn, Kaufland maintains its own advertising Verlag, which publishes the brochures TOP date and TIP of the week. There will be informed about the latest offers and products regional provider. The free advertising sheet is funded by ads. According to information from 400 different regional editions may be issued in an edition of 17.8 million copies. On the evening of September 29, 2013 TV Advertising from buying land on German television was broadcast as part of the newly launched TV advertising campaign for the first time.

Logistics

Kaufland operates in Germany currently seven logistics centers with a total of 2700 employees:

• Dortmund ( Nordrhein-Westfalen)
• Osterfeld (Saxony- Anhalt)
• Lübbenau (Brandenburg)
• Moeckmuehl (Baden- Württemberg)
• Geisen field ( Bavaria )
• Barsinghausen - Bantorf ( Lower Saxony),

• Thunder village ( Bavaria )

The supply of meat and sausage specialties of its own brand Purland is done directly by the meat plants in Heilbronn, Moeckmuehl and Osterfeld. By 2013 to build another meat plant in Heiligenstadt in Thuringia.