A grocery store (AE), grocery shop (BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, and is not used to refer to other types of stores that sell groceries. In the UK, shops that sell food are distinguished as grocers or grocery shops
Metro AG is a German multinational company based in Düsseldorf which operates business membership-only cash and carry stores primarily under the Metro brand. As of March 2024, Metro is operating 626 wholesale stores in 21 countries, including Europe, Kazakhstan, and Pakistan.
Aldi is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 12,000 stores in 18 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when they took over their mother's store in Essen. The business was split into two separate groups in 1960, that later became Aldi Nord, headquartered in Essen, and Aldi Süd, headquartered in neighbouring Mülheim.
Discount stores offer a retail format in which products are sold at prices that are in principle lower than an actual or supposed "full retail price". Discounters rely on bulk purchasing and efficient distribution to keep down costs.
Kesko Corporation is a Finnish retailing conglomerate with its head office in Kalasatama, Helsinki. It is engaged in the grocery trade, building and technical trade, and car trade. It also has operations in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.
Neckarsulm is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, near Heilbronn, and part of the district of Heilbronn. As of 2016, Neckarsulm had 26,800 inhabitants. The name Neckarsulm derives from the city's location where the Neckar and Sulm rivers meet.
Kaufland is a German hypermarket chain, part of the Schwarz Gruppe which also owns Lidl. The hypermarket directly translates to English as "buy-land." It opened its first store in 1984 in Neckarsulm and quickly expanded to become a major chain in what was formerly West Germany. It operates over 1,500 stores in Germany, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova.
Mein Real was a chain of hypermarkets in Germany owned by Metro AG until 2020 when it was sold to The SCP Group. It was formed in 1992, from the merger of chains divi, Basar, Continent, Esbella and real-kauf. Until 2014 it was also active internationally, in Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey; most of these operations were bought by French retail company Auchan Group. In 2018, Metro decided to divest the Real chain and in 2021, many markets were taken over by either Edeka, Kaufland, Globus, Rewe or V-Markt and got rebranded with the brand of the respective new owner. The process of selling was finished by mid of 2022. However, the original plans to liquidate real completely were dropped in early 2022 when it was decided that the remaining 60 stores will continue under the real brand name under new ownership. Real's former website (real.de) was replaced by kaufland.de in 2021. The new website can be found at meinreal.de.
Dieter Schwarz is a German billionaire businessman, and owner of the Schwarz-Gruppe. He is the former chairman and CEO of the supermarket chain Lidl, and the hypermarket chain Kaufland.
Tengelmann Twenty-One KG is the Munich-based Holding of the Tengelmann Group, a family-owned company established in 1867. The company identifies as an active entrepreneurial family investor, currently holding shares in more than 50 companies in Europe and North America. The diverse portfolio includes large retailers such as OBI and KiK, the real estate company TREI, the energy consulting company Tengelmann Energie, the insurance company Tengelmann Assekuranz as well as Tengelmann Audit. Their affiliated investment companies Tengelmann Ventures, Emil Capital Partners and Tengelmann Growth Partners invest in Start-ups and Grown-ups in Europe and North America.
The REWE Group is a German diversified retail and tourism co-operative group based in Cologne, Germany. The name REWE comes from Revisionsverband der Westkauf-Genossenschaften", meaning "Western Buying Co-operatives Auditing Association".
Co-op is a UK supermarket chain and the brand used for the food retail business of The Co-operative Group, one of the world’s largest consumer co-operatives. As the UK’s fifth largest food retailer, Co-op operates nearly 2,400 food stores. It also supplies products to over 6,000 other stores, including those run by independent co-operative societies, through its wholesale business, Nisa Retail Limited.
Lidl is a German international discount retailer chain that operates over 12,000 stores, present in every member state of the European Union, Serbia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Headquartered in Neckarsulm, Baden-Württemberg, the company belongs to the Schwarz Group, which also includes hypermarket chain Kaufland.
Schlecker was a German retail company with headquarters in Ehingen which once had a workforce of some 52,000. There were stores across Europe including Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Portugal, Poland, France, Spain and Italy. Schlecker announced the closure of half its shops across Germany with effect from 29 February 2012. Due to bankruptcy, the remaining stores were closed on 27 June of that year, with the exception of the 'XL' markets and the businesses of associated 'Ihr Platz' brand.
The Globus Group, led by Globus Holding, branded as Globus, is a German retail company based in Sankt Wendel, Saarland (Germany). The Globus Holding includes the Globus hypermarkets in Germany, Russia and the Czech Republic, as well as the Globus DIY stores.
Klaus Gehrig is a German businessman, the CEO of Schwarz Gruppe, a private family-owned German retail group that owns Lidl and Kaufland, and is the largest retailer in Europe. Gehrig succeeded company owner Dieter Schwarz as CEO of Lidl in 2004.
The retail format influences the consumer's store choice and addresses the consumer's expectations. At its most basic level, a retail format is a simple marketplace, that is; a location where goods and services are exchanged. In some parts of the world, the retail sector is still dominated by small family-run stores, but large retail chains are increasingly dominating the sector, because they can exert considerable buying power and pass on the savings in the form of lower prices. Many of these large retail chains also produce their own private labels which compete alongside manufacturer brands. Considerable consolidation of retail stores has changed the retail landscape, transferring power away from wholesalers and into the hands of the large retail chains.
Hussel GmbH is a German confectionery retailer founded in 1949. Hussel operates around 137 retail shops in Germany and Austria. In addition, Hussel sells its products online. Approximately 1,300 employees work for Hussel. Hussel's headquarters is in Wahlstedt in Schleswig-Holstein and its chairman is Patrick G. Weber.
The Lidl Austria GmbH is a subsidiary of Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG, part of the Schwarz Group. Lidl Austria's core assortment includes groceries, with a focus on over 2000 products, many of which are sourced locally from Austria. The company emphasizes a wide range of fresh and packaged food products.
