Kaufland is weakening – and is planning rigorous changes

Money & Shopping

Whether sausages with potato salad, roast with dumplings, raclette or fish – a sumptuous feast is an integral part of the holidays. It’s best to buy the right ingredients in good time – the main point of contact is the usual supermarkets. The Christmas season always means a high number of customers for retailers.

At Kaufland, however, there is no Christmas euphoria this year. The supermarket giant has a mixed record. Now rigorous measures should help so that things run better for the supermarket giant next year.

Things are actually going well at the supermarkets, especially before Christmas. Image: iStockphoto / Mr Vito

Kaufland actually started 2023 with good numbers. In August things even looked better than the competition at times. However, towards the end of the year, the supermarket giant is struggling with declining growth. This is what she reports now “Food Newspaper”.

Kaufland: Probably fewer special offers in 2024

Offers upon offers – in recent months Kaufland has apparently focused primarily on reduced prices. The bargains were intended to attract consumers to the branches. However, the strategy apparently didn’t really work. At least the current numbers don’t reflect that. One problem is apparently the high purchasing costs. While customers were able to enjoy reduced prices, Kaufland itself still had to pay a lot of money to retailers.

Another problem also arises from the range. Unlike other discounters, Kaufland has many branded products on its shelves. However, it is primarily private labels from which the markets generate profits.

According to “LZ”, big changes are coming at Kaufland in the new year. Sales growth should finally increase again. However, bargain hunters in particular might dislike the measures. The supermarket chain therefore wants to offer slightly fewer special offers for the time being.

Supermarket: Is the price war entering the next round?

But the company also holds retailers responsible. Apparently they should lower their prices. At least the situation on the raw materials market has eased somewhat and inflation has also fallen.

Kaufland wants to work on its image in 2024. Image: IMAGO/Manfred Segerer / imago images

In addition, a new image should also help to improve sales. The appearance will probably be revised again in 2024. In particular, the fact that Kaufland has not developed enough during the corona pandemic is a frequent criticism. At that time, markets with a large and diverse range of products particularly benefited. This meant that people could do their shopping in just one place. After the pandemic, customers seem to be increasingly visiting different stores again. Other markets with the Kaufland business model also suffer from this.