What could the REWE supermarket look like in 2030? Eleven candidates for self-employment with REWE tackled this question at a first network meeting in Cologne. They found it valuable to exchange ideas with each other, with experienced self-employed people and managers from the Central locations.
There have probably never been as many opportunities to start your own business as there are today. REWE has set up several programmes especially for young people. Now, for the first time, participants from the trainee programme and dual study programme for self-employment came together in Cologne.
"In addition to the joint project work, the main focus here was on the idea of networking," explained co-organiser Carina Schinke. The project team, consisting of Judith Dresen, HR National, as well as Katharina Bender and Carina Schinke, both from the Communication Retailers department, had put together a top-class programme for the young people. In addition to presentations by experienced retailers with lots of valuable tips, a trip to the non-food business and an excursion to the Richrath family's REWE store in Cologne's Opernpassage, teamwork was required. In a joint workshop, the young talents developed their vision of the supermarket of the future. Erich Stockhausen, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, was on hand as an experienced entrepreneur to evaluate the work under the heading "My store 2030" together with Barbara Dahm (REWE Strategy) and Vanessa Connemann, Head of Communications for Retailers. How did the participants experience the days in Cologne? one interviewed some of them. Here are their impressions:
"Important to see what works and how"
"Everything was new to me: getting an insight into the buildings on Stolberger Strasse and experiencing the colourful mix of people working here. As a future self-employed person, it's important to see how things work. I thought the showroom was cool. You could see that even with non-food, no placement is left to chance, but follows a sophisticated plan."
"The dialogue between the participants, who come from all regions and have very different backgrounds and different careers, was good and enriching. For the future, it's good to know who I can call if I have any questions. The two days here in Cologne helped to build a relationship with the head office and promoted mutual understanding."
"I learnt a lot from the exchange. The views of the trainees and students build on each other and complement each other. It's interesting to get to know the perspectives from the other regions. It was exciting to take a look behind the scenes and visit the showroom, where we learnt a lot about the non-food business. It takes a year for a new product to be launched on the market, which is a huge contrast to the day-to-day food business."
"The network is an exciting opportunity for me to get to know the dual students; I already knew most of the trainees beforehand. The seminar helped me to get to know the complex structure of REWE better and to internalise the company's values. The lecturers were well prepared, open and treated us participants as equals. I got to know our Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Mr Stockhausen, as a patient, pragmatic and tangible person. This gives you a good personal feeling that REWE is the right partner for self-employment. The seminar confirmed my philosophy of being able to learn from the experience of others. In this respect, the network is a recommendation for anyone facing a similar challenge."
The two-day networking event, which took place for the first time, brought together participants from all over Germany in Cologne. They are either taking part in the trainee programme for self-employment or are completing a dual study programme for self-employment. Of the total of 18 dual students, six started the first year of the programme in May 2021. They now took part in the networking event. Five trainees completed the round.
The trainee programme is designed to last two years for graduates, while the dual study programme lasts three years. Five trainees have already taken over their own store. A further five have successfully completed the programme and are currently going through their store management phase. If you have any questions about the programmes, please contact the regional retailers or the national contacts (e-mail: reweformer@rewe-group.com).
