Chills but no frills

摘要

In a hierarchy where the lowly manufacturer kneels at the feet of the mighty discounter and consumers have evolved into skilled bargain hunters, how can German food processors inject value into the marketplace? In 2004, grocery turnover in Germany stagnated at &82.8bn and the decline in the number of stores continued to 59,288, says the head of Food from Britain's German division, Roy Edleston. "Each year, approximately 3,000 stores under 400m~2 close," he says. "The trend is towards concentration." Discounters now have a 40% share of total food retail turnover and this figure looks set to grow, claims Edleston. Historically, discounters were top-up shops and supermarkets were destinations, he says, but over the last eight years, the situation has reversed.