The real estate sector benefits from this momentum. It requires stable, sustainable investments, reliability, and clear legal requirements, without creating location disadvantages for European companies. This is a balancing act that demands considerable sensitivity. Kaufland views itself as part of the solution, aiming to provide economic stimulus through real estate investment while also promoting sustainable and socially responsible solutions.
The food retail sector and its associated real estate have once again demonstrated resilience during the economic downturn. Even during the pandemic, food retail proved stable in uncertain times and fulfilled its responsibility as a systemically relevant area. However, this stability should not overshadow intense competitive pressures. Takeovers and aggressive price wars characterize the competitive landscape, while rising costs – including energy prices, logistics, and digital integration in the purchasing process – challenge companies.
The primary beneficiaries are players offering competitive price-performance ratios, high quality, and numerous own-brand and private labels in different price segments. Kaufland’s price expertise stands out: Over 7,000 branded and own-brand products are consistently low-priced, complemented by weekly special offers and price advantages.
In addition, long opening hours, spacious parking, including electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and innovative digital services enhance the shopping experience. The integration of analogue and digital offers enables customers to shop seamlessly between the two. The Kaufland app combines receipts, shopping lists, recipes, loyalty programs, and personalized offers. With K-Scan, customers can scan and pay for purchases directly through K-Pay – quickly, efficiently, and conveniently. Those who skillfully navigate such complex interrelationships create positive customer journeys, foster loyalty, and maintain success.
Retail real estate plays a fundamental role within retail groups in achieving this, serving as essential spaces for customer transactions. Unlike digital solutions or flexible pricing, real estate inherently possesses long-term, static characteristics. This might explain the persistent misconception regarding Kaufland’s real estate and development schemes – the notion that the company only develops large hypermarkets on greenfield sites, preferably owneroccupied. In reality, Kaufland is flexible, versatile, and adaptive.
Our real estate portfolio is as unique as its locations, encompassing standalone stores, mixed-use concepts, integration within retail parks, and revitalization of existing assets with sales areas of 2,000 sq m or more on sites spanning 6,000 sq m or larger. There’s no standard solution. Each project is customized to the location and its requirements – from small towns with 10,000 residents to urban centers: We find the right solution for the right location, whether we own or lease.
More that just Real Estate: Our Path as a Partner and Tenant
Kaufland’s approach has evolved significantly. Originally focused on real estate ownership and in-house development, we now strategically operate as tenants. In Germany, this has been characterized by numerous takeovers. In existing CEE/SEE markets, this flexibility allows us to react to market conditions and create customized solutions together with property developers. Why change the approach? Leasing premises can expediate building right acquisition and development times, facilitating our continued growth across all countries. This approach requires partnerships, and by working closely with investors, we use our expertise to transform assets into contemporary, future-proof shopping locations, whether they are new builds or existing properties.
One example of Kaufland’s versatility is its acquisition of a large number of stores from former competitor REAL in Germany. Over the last few years, over 100 of these, which vary in concept and age, have been integrated into our existing portfolio and are operated both as owneroccupied and leased premises. Our outstanding planning expertise and efficient team management enabled the largest integration in the company’s history. The transformation was swift: REAL locations were handed over, closed, fitted-out, and reopened for customers within just three days, complete with Kaufland’s productrange, branding, technology, and infrastructure.
Extensive modernization measures, partly addressing a long-standing investment backlog, were scheduled and implemented after intensive examination of the properties. This expertise in implementing complex projects in an efficient and customer-oriented manner extends across all eight of our portfolio countries, where Kaufland collaborates with owners, to revitalize shopping centers, hybrid malls, and retail parks into modern, high footfall shopping locations.
Successful revitalization projects outside Germany include Fort Wola in Warsaw, the Danubia Center in Bratislava, and our 250th store in Poland, in Bielsko-Biala. These examples demonstrate how existing retail properties can be converted into modern and future-proof shopping centers through strong cooperation and how Kaufland’s role as an anchor tenant can boost the appeal of retail real estate regain.
How is Kaufland able to achieve this? Our many years of experience as a large-scale operator provides us with the expertise to create a new, successful perspective on retail. Beyond priceperformance and seamless digital customer journeys, a more comprehensive approach is often necessary to revitalise retail assets. When acquiring premises, the existing real estate concept can be challenging: a large anchor tenant – usually a hypermarket – and numerous small-scale retail units that do not meet customer needs. By redesigning the property and tenant structures as well as reducing hypermarket space, Kaufland generates footfall while creating space for complementary, customerrelevant retailers. This specialisation and diversification create location-specific, modern onestop retail destination, managed by Kaufland or in partnership with the property owners. The spectrum ranges from compact checkout zones to retail parks or shopping centres with up to 35,000 square metres of leasable space.
Our Expertise: Know-How for every Challenge
With 40 years of accumulated expertise, Kaufland successfully operates 1,550 locations across eight countries. Continuous strategy adaptation to market conditions, flexible real state concepts, and innovative operational approaches have been crucial to this growth.
The Path is clear: We are Committed to Growth
As a reliable partner, Kaufland creates strong footfall anchors even in challenging times, aiming to actively shape the future of retail and retail real estate alongside existing and new partners.
all credits: Kaufland
