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The Real branch network is about to be broken up. In the hanging game around the ailing hypermarket chain Real, there are now important decisions. The Federal Cartel Office has approved the takeover of over 100 Real branches in Kaufland and Globus. Real is now starting to sell out in the first cities. Competitors Kaufland and Globus take over the branches.
The first stores are to be handed over in the coming months. The Federal Cartel Office has cleared the way for the breaking up of the ailing hypermarket chain Real. The large-scale discounter Kaufland received the green light from the competition authority to take over up to 92 Real stores. The Globus supermarket chain received approval for the acquisition of up to 24 Real locations, as did the competition authority communicated.
For Kaufland, it is the largest takeover in the company’s history to date. The company has so far operated 670 hypermarkets across Germany and, like Lidl, belongs to the Schwarz Group, the largest food retailer in Europe. Originally, Kaufland even wanted to take over up to 101 Real branches. But the competition watchdogs were cross with nine markets.
Bundeskartellamt President Andreas Mundt emphasized: “We want consumers to have enough choice between different grocery stores where they shop. That is why we are only allowing Kaufland to take over up to 92 Real stores instead of the 101 registered ones.”
In these cities, the future of Real stores is in the stars –
Overall, Kaufland wanted to have significantly more branches. But the cartel office decided against some cases. There Edeka could now come to the train. A decision should be made at the end of February 2021. In the opinion of the competition authorities, the takeover of Kaufland would have impaired the alternatives and competition in the cities of Bedburg, Heidenau, Hemer, Heidenheim, Brandenburg, Neubrandenburg, Horb, Dülmen and Falkensee too much. The takeover of up to 24 Real locations by Globus, on the other hand, is unproblematic according to the competition watchdog. With 47 hypermarkets in Germany, Globus only has a turnover of 4.5 billion euros. However, the Federal Cartel Office examined not only the effects of the takeovers on consumers, but also the effects on the procurement side, where the dealers and their suppliers face each other. Mundt emphasized that the Schwarz Group with Kaufland and Lidl was expanding its strong market position in purchasing through the takeovers. However, the release was still possible because Real owner SCP in return undertook to sell a significant number of Real locations to medium-sized grocery retailers. This means that there is still an important sales alternative for manufacturers and suppliers of food in Germany. “After the course of the sale process, it could not be assumed that medium-sized dealers would have been able to acquire locations at all without the influence of the Federal Cartel Office,” emphasized Mundt. Real is disappearing in these cities The Real store in Wittlich, Rhineland-Palatinate, is to be transferred to Globus by 2022 at the latest. The lease with Real ends towards the end of September 2021. The market in Siegen (North Rhine-Westphalia) also goes to Globus. The same applies to the Real branches in Duisburg. This is where Globus and Kaufland should come into play. The Real store in Neu-Edingen (Mannheim) is to become a Kaufland branch from 2021. Kaufland is also moving into the Real market in Paderborn. In Edingen-Neckarhausen, Real will close on January 31, 2021, as employees report. A new Kaufland store is to follow there According to exclusive information, Kaufland is also moving into Braunschweig (Hamburger Straße) and Dusiburg (Berliner Straße). Kaufland takes over, according to a report in the “Lebensmittel Zeitung”, plus the former Real branches in Detmold, Bochum-Wattenscheid, Edingen-Neckarhausen, Oldenburg, Kulmbach, Ettlingen, Germersheim, Moers, Paderborn, Heinsberg, Aachen, Neuss and Hamm-Heessen. The sale will start here soon. From February these branches will continue to operate under the name “Kaufland”. Edeka is also vying for numerous Real markets Kaufland wants to take over the Real stores step by step from the first quarter of next year. “In the coming months we will integrate the markets and maintain them as regional local suppliers for customers,” said the head of Kaufland Germany, Ralf Imhof. This gave up to 12,000 employees a new professional perspective. The Russian Real owner SCP had acquired the ailing hypermarket chain with its around 270 stores from Metro in the spring in order to break up and resell it. In addition to Kaufland and Globus, Germany’s largest grocery retailer Edeka has also registered with the Federal Cartel Office to take over up to 72 Real branches. But the decision of the competition watchdog is still pending. The deadline for a decision was recently extended to February 22 of next year. In Germany, the four leading retail chains Edeka, Rewe, Aldi and the Schwarz Group account for more than 85 percent of sales in the food trade. That is why the Federal Cartel Office is particularly vigilant when it comes to takeovers in this area. –
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