1923, the year of hyperinflation. In Berlin, an egg cost 800 marks in June and an incredible 320 billion marks by December. Within a few hours, money was worth less and less, people were counting in bundles instead of notes and carrying them to the shops in wheelbarrows. In the midst of this crisis, twelve independent retailers had the founding protocol of the "Erka Westkaufgenossenschaft der Kolonialwarenhändler von Erkelenz und Umgebung" officially certified on 13 March 1923. Their - still current - vision: to be able to survive in a war-torn and increasingly industrialised world with self-help and the courage to take new paths. The foundation stone of today's REWE West eG was laid.

With its hundred-year history, REWE West eG is one of the oldest co-operatives within the REWE Trade Group. The initial twelve retailers have now grown to 272, and the trend is rising. Many merchant families have been operating for several generations.

Carl and Katharina Post founded their business in 1888 and the family is now a fifth-generation member of the cooperative Just like the family of REWE West eG Supervisory Board member Birgit Dederichs. Her great-grandparents Carl and Katharina Post founded the Carl Post bakery and colonial goods shop in 1888, before their son Jakob joined the REWE cooperatives in Büttgen in the mid-1920s after several expansions of the business. Today, the Post/Dederichs family is the fifth generation to be active in the food retail sector.

Over the decades, more than 40 cooperatives were merged to form today's REWE West eG. At the beginning of the 1980s, the merchandise management business was transferred to the then REWE Handelsgesellschaft (RHG). The co-operative itself developed into an operational asset management company. Around 50 properties are currently owned by REWE West eG. The regional cooperative also supports its members with equity capital assistance, promotes training and further education and organises business forums. "Promoting our independent retailers is the fundamental principle of our cooperative - and that is precisely why it is essential for the entire REWE Group," explains Uwe Hoeveler, full-time Management Board member of REWE West eG. "It is the basis of everything we do," he adds.

One of the great revolutions in the food retail sector was the introduction of self-service, here a REWE store at the end of the 1950s Around 8,000 co-operatives are currently registered in Germany. Due to its structure, this type of company is considered to be particularly insolvency-proof and stable. On the other hand, it has long had the image of a dusty association. "The development of REWE Group is the best example of how this is not true at all. We have reinvented ourselves several times over the past decades. And above all, we have come through the crises of recent years better than many companies that are managed in other legal forms," says Hoeveler. In addition, REWE West eG strengthens the region like hardly any other company. Its independent retailers are not only secure employers for several thousand employees, they also work in partnership with co-operative banks, farmers and service providers such as construction companies, plumbers and painters.

REWE West eG intends to continue focussing on its core values in the future and consistently pursue the path it has already taken. Especially in turbulent times, it is clear that a system based on values was, is and will be sustainable.

You can hear more about REWE West's 100th anniversary in the podcast with Management Board member Uwe Hoeveler.