EDEKA as an Experience Brand: Balancing Trust and Diversity

Mr. Mosa, in conjunction with the German Brand Awards you’ve been named Brand Manager of the Year, a prize with which the jury honours outstanding performance in brand management – in your case for EDEKA. What did you and your team do right, and what are the distinguishing features of a strong retail brand?

A strong retail brand should express reliability and consistency, but move with the times as well. EDEKA is a brand that consumers in Germany have trusted for more than a century. At the same time, EDEKA has many faces: 4,000 self-employed retailers and their teams give the brand a distinctive, personalised signature. This is simultaneously the unique nature of our brand as well as a factor in our success.

How does a corporate group with 4,000 independent retailers create and ensure a uniform
market image?

Naturally, we need common elements that are externally visible. These include our blue-and-yellow logo, the advertising campaign “Wir ♥ Lebensmittel” (“We ♥ Food”) or our national private labels such as EDEKA and GUT&GÜNSTIG. Moreover, 360° communication that addresses the various target groups directly is a crucial factor in our success. The self-employed retailers are a key component of the core of our brand. They have complete freedom in making their business decisions. At first glance, this poses a challenge to brand management. However, it is simultaneously our greatest strength, because our ideas and concepts always have to be so good that we can convince our retailers of their quality. We know that if we convince them, we can convince our customers as well.

EDEKA’s aim is to make our customers’ weekly grocery run an authentic, memorable and emotional shopping experience for them. The company also operates an online supermarket in the form of Bringmeister. In the online shops, the personal element – interpersonal communication – is lost. The digital presentation of merchandise is limited to images of the products. Of the five senses that could be appealed to, only one remains: sight. The shopping experience is reduced to timely delivery and whether the purchased goods meet the buyer’s expectations – and this is not usually terribly difficult with routine, repeated purchases. What does that mean for the brand and brand management – where and how can the brand be experienced in an increasingly digitalised world?

You’ve addressed the issue yourself: food retail is undergoing a digital transformation, as shown particularly in communication. To keep the brand young and vital, we also make use of the social media
channels and place successful viral videos from time to time. But digitalisation doesn’t mean that everyone will simply order groceries for home delivery from now on. The supermarket is and will remain an important social meeting place. The market will become a marketplace, increasingly offering a variety of dining experiences. No online shop can replace this enjoyable shopping experience. However, digital solutions can be useful complements – of course we develop suitable concepts for these as well. It is difficult to build trust in purely digital brands. That’s why I firmly believe that intelligent cross-channel concepts are the future of food retailing.

With regard to employer branding, in many industries, Germany is experiencing a shortage of qualified, motivated young people. What does that mean for the future orientation of personnel marketing and the employer brand at EDEKA?

Food retail is a future-proof industry, and the high recognition of our brand enables us to attract motivated and talented people on a regular basis. In the past year alone, we hired 6,700 apprentices throughout Germany. To maintain this level, we invest specifically in appealing to the young target group. Many young adults communicate differently, but above all they have different ideas with regard to careers. Not only the personnel marketing staff but the entire company will have to adjust accordingly.

What’s your vision for the future for the EDEKA brand? Where will EDEKA be in 10 years?

The EDEKA Group has always been successful in its ongoing development for more than 100 years, without ever losing the heart of its brand. Our values, including quality consciousness, closeness to our customers and a passion for pleasure will remain consistent and will differentiate us from our competitors even more in the future. Our customers trust our expertise in food and love their shopping experience with us. That will still be the case ten years from now.

The interview was conducted by Andrej Kupetz.