Customers appreciate being able to do their shopping in one store. Retailers and store managers, on the other hand, want to tailor their product range to the location. The Non-Food division has tailored its new modular concept precisely to these needs.
The non-food range bears the decisive restriction for the food retail sector in its name: It is not food and is therefore not necessarily the top priority for food retailers. Yet non-food also has a lot to offer food retailers. This is exactly what Tristan Finger, Head of Merchandise Full-range Non-Food, wants to emphasise with the new building block concept and make it easier for retailers to position the range in a customer-oriented and easy-to-care-for way.
The concept is designed to put together the right product range for each store - regardless of size. This is based on products from the Vivess and ja! own brands.
"ja!" now presents itself in a fresher and more emotional way
"We have decided to focus more on the breadth of the product range in the building blocks, as this allows us to offer the best mix of products depending on the size of the store and avoid unnecessary product depth," explains Tristan Finger. After all, while customers expect a large selection of food products in the supermarket so that they can then decide between the products, they want a good, price-orientated pre-selection of non-food products for emergency and impulse purchases.
With this pre-selection in mind, Tristan Finger's team has revised the non-food range. The aim is to offer the right range for every store size, from bulk placement with fast-moving own-brand products for small stores or as secondary placement to shelf metres with a target group-appropriate range for large supermarkets.
Tackled the topic of non-food from scratch: Tristan Finger
Last year, non-food revenue in Germany skyrocketed, especially in the first quarter, with growth of over 30 per cent in some cases.
Demand then normalised, resulting in an increase in sales of over 10% at the end of the year. The largest sales driver was the standard range at 12 per cent.
Tristan Finger shows what this means in practice in the building block laboratory in Stolberger Straße. Here, napkins and reusable and disposable crockery are lined up next to the breakfast products or kitchen gadgets next to the baking ingredients. Customers will find everything they need for their cake or picnic in one place. The candles, cleaning, stationery and household ranges have also been revised.
Tackled the topic of non-food from scratch: Tristan Finger
New additions to the Vivess range will soon include toys and small electrical appliances, from coffee machines to blenders. A little something for the child, a replacement for a broken egg cooker - customers will be able to find all of this in larger REWE stores in future. The promotional furniture has also been redesigned and made so flexible that the goods can be presented in a tidier way - and completely carefree, as unsold goods can be returned in full. There are also non-food co-operations with celebrities and their collections, which are intended to provide additional purchasing impulses.
"From online retailers to drugstores and discounters, all sales channels have discovered the non-food market for themselves. Competition in this market is correspondingly fierce," summarises Tristan Finger. "This makes it all the more important for us to know the needs, expectations and habits of our Rewe customers and offer them the right mix of products."
In addition to the stores in Germany, the Non-Food division is supplying more and more international REWE Group stores with goods. The number of stores supplied has grown from 434 Billa stores (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Bulgaria) in 2016 to currently 2,622 stores in five countries.
In addition to the expansion of the existing countries, IKI Lithuania and various sales areas such as Billa, Billa Plus and Sutterlüty in Austria have been added. Further supplies are being planned.
Sven Schäfer
What do retailers say about the new non-food concept? Sven Schäfer from the Centre region and René Schneider from the East region report on their experiences as pioneers.
Sven Schäfer: "We were already at a high level before, but with the introduction of the new layout we were able to significantly increase revenue and sales once again. On average, revenue increased by a good 16 per cent. You have to realise that non-food has always been very important due to the rural location of our market. The price-performance ratio has become much more attractive by focussing on ja! and Vivess, and the selection is also more up-to-date and better: the bums have been taken out and replaced with new, trendy items. Batteries, greetings cards, textiles, household goods and small electrical goods are our strongest segments. The great thing about the modular principle is that you can manage it well and each store can choose what makes sense for its location. We have chosen the largest possible modules for our 2,800 square metre store. One strong point is the HLS Premium Service with a fixed contact person who takes care of the entire product range. As a retailer, I don't have to worry about anything. To summarise, I can say: The new non-food concept is an uplift that has done the whole store good."
REWE merchant Sven Schäfer, Hofgeismar, has always enjoyed the non-food business - "also because the margins are extremely good".
René Schneider
René Schneider: "Non-food has always been very important for our store in the Berlin suburbs. Despite this, the product range ran on the side and has barely developed over the years. With the new building block concept, we've made a huge leap forward. The new articles are great, sales are increasing exorbitantly - by 100 per cent for some articles - and are also making the non-food business economically attractive. The reduction to the two own brands ja! and Vivess makes it clear for customers. What counts for them is the price-performance ratio. The price points are now much better set and competitive. Our kitchen gadgets are doing particularly well, but we have also expanded our range of toys. It's good that the stores can stock the ranges that are relevant to them. The building blocks offered from stock form the basis; the stores can specialise as required and expand their expertise over time. In our 2,000 square metre store, we offer the full range, around 3,500 items. The cooperation with the service provider HLS is going very well and the responsible employee has realised new potential. As a retailer, you get real added value for the additional costs, which pays off. I'm already looking forward to further revised modules."
René Schneider offers the full REWE non-food programme in Bernau near Berlin
