Clemens Bauer one: Almost everyone in Germany knows ja!. This makes it probably the best-known own brand in the country. How do you explain this success?

Clemens Bauer: There are several reasons for this. If you look at ja! in comparison to the own brands in discount stores, we have a much higher presence in the market with our own brand. After all, discounters usually have their own private labels for many individual product groups and segments.

We have also done a lot for the brand in recent years and invested heavily in image advertising and quality advertising. In TV advertising, we have focussed primarily on charming, cheeky commercials with a slight wink, thus positioning the own brand in a likeable and contemporary way. And then we had ja! tested and rated by customers via our product test platform. This allowed them to convince themselves and other customers of the good quality of the products. We then took this up again in a TV advert with Thomas Müller. As a result, we have consistently developed the brand based on its high profile, particularly with regard to the quality promise.

one: Why was ja! not integrated into the REWE umbrella brand by name? All other own brands have REWE in their names: REWE Beste Wahl, REWE Bio, REWE Feine Welt....

Clemens Bauer: ja! can and should have its own position in our brand world because it is close to the discount sector. We operate very independently with ja!. This not only allows us to position it as an alternative to the discount product. We can also be much bolder and cheekier, we can be more daring in our advertising and more aggressive.

one: Ja! is now 40 years old. What value does such a brand have for a retail company - especially after such a long time?

Clemens Bauer: The value of the brand is immense for us. In the overall construct of our brand world, we say to customers with ja!: "You don't need to go to the discounter. With us, you'll find variety and can combine good products with discount prices." Strategically speaking, ja! stands for entry-level price products with high quality.

one: For two years now, the packaging has been much less purist. The plain white design with blue lettering has disappeared. The packaging is colourful, illustrations are used and the "ja!" logo is less dominant.

Clemens Bauer: The problem in the past was that the white design was visually less of a promise of quality and more of a favourable price. Customers then draw conclusions about the contents from the packaging. We wanted to counteract this and significantly increase the perception of quality. That's why we're now working with colour, product images and illustrations that whet the appetite for the good product in the packaging.

"ja!" is the best-known own brand in the German retail world one: What are the next steps for the brand? The range has grown from 28 products at the start in 1982 to over 1,100 products now. What else can come next?

Clemens Bauer: ja! is an integral part of our DNA, with a significant share of sales. If you look at the development of brands in general, you can see that customers are currently scrutinising brands more closely for their meaningfulness or "purpose". For us, this means that we also have to keep asking ourselves this question with regard to our brands.

The decisive factor is that customers must have the certainty that they will receive high-quality products from us and that we will take care of the issues that are important to them. Particularly with an entry-level price brand like ja! and especially now, when prices are rising due to inflation, customers must be able to trust that they are making good purchases from us.

one: Mr Bauer, thank you for talking to us.