GERMANY: Kaufland to launh online by 2017 | Progresiv
Kaufland plans to launch its online business by 2017, using its own logistics, Lebensmittel Zeitung has reported. Kaufland is looking for a professional with the background of online and e-commerce including a Chief Digital Officer. It has recently hired Marcus Rodermann, Sales and Marketing MD from fashion online retailer Heine. Rodermann is leading the Omnichannel at Kaufland. 
Other hypermarket retailers in Germany have already been testing e-commerce. Globus launched Drive in Gesingen last year, while Metro Group’s Real expanded its home delivery service to Berlin, and launched click & collect service on the island Ruegen. Rewe has also been expanding its online trials, launching a full grocery Click and Collect offer in January 2016.
The online grocery market has been slow to take off in Germany, however with more retailers starting to invest in their online offers, it has started to gain traction. Amazon pantry launched in October 2015, which has helped drive this development, and it will be interesting to see how the online market develops over the next year. (www.igd.com)
