Another success for Fritz Starke: after winning the "Goldener Zuckerhut" foundation's sponsorship award, the 27-year-old has now been honoured with the "Young Entrepreneur of the Year" award. In the final of the industry competition, he came out on top against his competitor from Edeka.
REWE was once again strongly represented at the "Supermarket Stars", the industry award organised by Lebensmittelzeitung. Several REWE employees made it to the final round and answered questions from the high-calibre jury in Frankfurt's Palmengarten. Almir Schalla from the REWE store in Erding won silver in the Store Manager of the Year category. Jörg Löffler from the REWE Centre in Olching came third in the Store Manager of the Year category. And the fantastic team from Trier led by REWE salesman Wladimir Pojanow also secured silver in the "Team of the Year" category.
To win, the applicants had to impress the jury with their motivation, customer focus and exemplary behaviour.
It wasn't just the tropical temperatures in Frankfurt's Palmengarten that made the finalists break out in a sweat - the tension did the rest. Because it was only at the evening awards ceremony on stage that the participants found out their ranking.
„Today there are only good markets, it's the people who make the difference“Peter Maly
commented REWE Group Management Board member and jury member Peter Maly on the outstanding performances of the finalists. The race was closer than it had been for a long time. "The standard has improved once again compared to last year," said Maly.
We spoke to the newly crowned Young Entrepreneur of the Year immediately after the award ceremony.
one: Congratulations, Mr Starke! How do you feel?
Fritz Starke: Super! I'm surprised and overwhelmed. There was a lot of tension before the jury's round of questions.
one: What questions did you have to answer? Can you tell us?
Starke : It was about training, employee management and shoplifting in the nahkauf box, which fortunately is not an issue.
one: With all modesty, why would you say you deserved the award?
Starke: I deserve it because I bring retail exactly where it belongs with a concept tailored to the location: to the customers. That can also be a box like the one in Moritzburg.
one: You are already very successful at a young age. What plans do you have for the future?
Starke: First of all, I'm focusing on my REWE store, which is opening in autumn. There's a lot to organise. Then we'll look further. As long as the collaboration works so well, we enjoy what we do and are motivated to get up early every morning, I'll keep looking ahead.
one: Mr Starke, thank you very much for talking to us.
About the person
Fritz Starke, 27, comes from a well-established family of butchers in Dresden. He decided to go into retail at the age of 16 and completed a dual study programme. After a year as a store manager at REWE in Pirna, he set up his own business in 2018. Together with his business partner Stefan Köckeritz, he runs three nahkauf stores in Dresden and Elsterwerda as well as a nahkauf box in Moritzburg. Fritz Starke will open his first REWE store in Ottendorf-Okrilla at the end of the year. "This is the fulfilment of a big dream for me," enthuses the successful young entrepreneur.
