Kaufland’s latest initiatives across Europe | Progresiv
Kaufland adds a new private label range in Germany to differentiate its price offer from discounters and supermarket retailers. It also added a pop-up restaurant in Romania to attract young shoppers and engage them with fresh food and cooking. The retailer also invested in an automated warehouse in Poland to reduce the growing pressures on its distribution network. 
Kaufland introduces a new private label range under the name ‘Favourites’ in Germany. The new private label range will supplement the price entry and premium ranges - K-Classic and K-Exquisit - and aims to boost private label sales growth. According to Kaufland CEO, Patrick Kaudewitz, 3,800 'Favourites' products will be initially introduced at a standard price point, which will add another price tier to Kaufland's private label offer. Mr Kaudewitz makes the point that Kaufland sits between Edeka and Aldi and is “a hybrid between a full-range retailer and a classic discounter, and the customer can rely on a particularly good price-performance ratio.”
Over 50 K-Exquisit products were re-introduced to Kaufland’s assortment in Bulgaria in mid-March. The range is not part of the constant assortment and was added for a period of two weeks. Kaufland looks to keep its assortment fresh with the introduction of temporary ranges amongst its smaller country operations, such as Bulgaria, to build brand equity and shopper awareness of its private label offer.
Kaufland Romania introduced a pop-up restaurant to its Bucharest at the Si Lounge. The restaurant offers a choice of affordable meals where the customers pay only for the ingredients, sourced from Kaufland stores. The concept has a regularly updated menu and will change location after two months. The pop-up restaurant intends to engage and inspire young shoppers with fresh food and cooking. According to Valer Hancas, spokesperson for Kaufland Romania, Kaufland ‘has become more than a place to shop it is a phenomenon that builds out of patterns, inviting reinventing, connecting and meeting newer and sophisticated needs of buyers.
Kaufland expanded its distribution network with the launch of an automated warehouse in central Poland. The warehouse is considered one of Kaufland’s most modern facilities of this type in Europe. The investment is a response to market needs to process distribution orders more efficiently and with a higher turnaround. The new warehouse is equipped with automated picking stations that run at a rate of 500 to 600 packages per hour. This is a threefold increase in the internal flow of goods in the warehouse. (www.igd.com)
