An actress and an ex-policeman as operators of a 3,000 square metre REWE centre: can that work? Should you give lateral entrants a chance? Ines and Rainer Quermann were confronted with such concerns when they approached REWE a few years ago to present their idea for a supermarket.

Barbecue pro Mitch with social media expert Karen Robinson and boss Ines Quermann (right) I Photo: Achim Bachhausen
"It was an extremely difficult start," recalls Rainer Quermann. In addition to convincing people that they could successfully manage such a large property as career changers, there were other challenges: "We bought a pig in a poke, the refurbishment and conversion of the store were very costly." The remodelling took a year and a half in total. The REWE retailer is still grateful to his customers for their patience and understanding. In any case, the philosophy of a place of shopping experience, in which many very different people live the "service to the guest", worked out. "As soon as we were finished, revenue increased by 46 per cent," reports Quermann proudly.

Today, the mutual courage to take risks can only be described as a stroke of luck. After all, the retailers and their 170-strong team are not only running their REWE Centre extremely successfully in economic terms. This spring, they won the "Supermarket of the Year" and the "German Fruit Prize", two important industry awards in quick succession in the Westphalian metropolis. The dedicated team even made it to the final round of the "Meat Star" competition.

Attentive and always in a good mood: customers should feel like guests
The much-quoted key to success at the Bielefeld REWE Centre is also the employees, who are primarily looked after by Ines Quermann and whom she welds together into a team despite their diversity. The newcomers also take on responsibility from the very beginning. "Everyone is given a project to learn how to work independently." Everyone goes through the service department. Whether someone fits into the team usually becomes clear after a short time. The team ultimately decides who stays, "because the employees have to get on with each other," says Ines Quermann.

Origin is not important, nor are qualifications. Rather: friendliness, friendliness and the ability to treat customers as guests. "We are open to career changers, pay attention to the individual, try to take a holistic approach and promote individual strengths," says Ines Quermann. And: "Money isn't everything," says the boss, recognising the importance of other motivational incentives, such as the opportunity to take time off.

The fact that endeavouring to find good colleagues is worthwhile is demonstrated by people like Mitch. The trained chef has established dry-aged beef in East Westphalia and is, to a certain extent, a brand in the service department himself. "Mitch stands for grilling and BBQ," says Rainer Quermann.

For him and his wife, the industry awards are important for several reasons: they stand for recognition, even beyond the company's borders, promote the image, increase motivation and are valuable for advertising and media resonance. Ultimately, this increase in attractiveness also helps with staff recruitment. Even getting there is part of the goal. Ines Quermann: "The joy of the competition is almost more important than winning the title."

"It's an incentive like the Olympics that can't be outweighed by money," adds Rainer Quermann. At the same time, as the best in the industry, you have a great responsibility not to let up, because as an award winner you are even more in the customer focus. The awards are also extremely important for further development.

The service counter scores with a high-quality range including dry-aged beef
"Cheap and cheap won't work in the long term," Rainer Quermann is convinced. Sustainability and fairness are issues that are close to his heart. And so there is still a lot to do: "Reshaping, constantly keeping up with the times, living transparency, being enthusiastic and passionate, pursuing ideals 365 days a year and taking risks," is how the passionate businessman summarises his permanent recipe for success.