Alnatura – highest turnover in the history of the firm

Alnatura is continuing on the path of sustainable growth: in the financial year 2012/2013, that ended on 30 September 2013, this organic enterprise, domiciled in Bickenbach in Hesse, generated turnover of
€ 593 m net – the highest figure in the history of the firm. This total equates to a rise of 15 % compared with last year. For comparison: the German organic market as a whole recorded a roughly 6 % increase last year.

(Picture: Alnatura is currently collaborating again with the Städel Museum - in all Alnatura stores, motifs from the works of Albrecht Dürer are displayed)
Götz Rehn (picture), the founder and managing director of the company, has this to say about the continuing above average growth of Alnatura: “Organic agriculture is synonymous with people treating the Earth in a respectful and sensible way. With their demand for organic products, our customers are making a contribution, based on rational considerations, to promoting this most sustainable and future-oriented form of agriculture.”

Meaningful corporate action is also the core thinking behind Alnatura’s timetable for sustainability. This strategy of continuous improvement of the sustainability balance sheet and the measures flowing from it are described in the company’s first sustainability report, that is published today.

During the last financial year, Alnatura opened ten new SuperNaturMarkt stores in Frankfurt, Tübingen, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Munich, Aachen, Berlin (2) and Hanover (2). This means that the company now operates 80 stores in 40 towns. At least 12 new openings are planned for the current financial year in new locations that include Potsdam, Düsseldorf and Ravensburg. (Picture: Alnatura in Hamburg)

The collaboration begun last year with Migros, the biggest retail enterprise in Switzerland, is continuing to develop positively. Having opened the first Alnatura organic supermarket in Zürich-Höngg (picture) in August 2012 (see our earlier report), at the end of November 2013 two new stores will follow in the Cantons Zug and Zürich. By the end of 2014, at least seven Alnatura organic supermarkets are scheduled to open in Switzerland. From the summer of 2014, around 300 Alnatura brand products will be introduced gradually in the Migros stores.

Looking beyond this expansion in terms of area, Alnatura is especially keen on carrying out high quality conversion and improvement work in the existing stores. As well as aesthetic and functional considerations, the focus is on improving energy efficiency. When all the work is finished, 20 % less energy per square metre of retail area will be consumed.

The range of Alnatura products (currently 1,100 articles) will also reach a new high, and this means that Alnatura will continue to be the brand with the most extensive organic offering in Germany. The most important sales channel for Alnatura goods is the approximately 3,500 stores of the company’s partners (dm-Drogerie Märkte, tegut, Budni, Hit, Globus, AEZ and Cactus) in 14 countries. In its cooperation with partners, Alnatura values long-term arrangements – Alnatura products have been listed by dm and tegut since 1986. As a rule, Alnatura has been working for many years with all its 135 manufacturers too. 96 % of them are small and medium-size companies, with
80 % based in Germany and 20 % sending supplies to Alnatura from neighbouring countries. (Picture: Alnatura Hanover)

The constantly growing demand for Alnatura products is reflected in the new logistics requirements. Since the middle of January 2013, Alnatura has been extending the distribution centre in Lorsch (picture) and is building the world’s biggest high-bay warehouse made from timber. The topping out ceremony was in the summer of this year, and the plan is for the building to be commissioned in the spring of 2014. The conspicuous high-bay warehouse can be seen clearly from the A67 Autobahn and is a milestone in the almost 30-year history of the company. It sets new standards in the logistics sector: on an area of 9,000 m² there will be 31,000 pallet spaces distributed over eight levels. Approximately 5,000 cubic metres of certified timber are being used. Wulf Kristian Bauer, the managing director responsible for store sales and logistics, is insistent: “Wood as a renewable resource is a building material that makes ecological sense. As in the case of fitting out our Alnatura SuperNaturMarkt stores, we’re keen to use a building method that is aesthetic and as sustainable as possible for our new high-bay warehouse.”

Both inside and outside, the building has been planned to meet the latest ecological standards. Thanks to good insulation and constructing the building (picture) 2,5 metres below the level of the land surrounding it, there is no need to heat and cool the building, and it is therefore climate- neutral. The timber used for the bays and the facades is certified spruce and larch from Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. Eco- electricity, green areas with trees and rainwater drainage areas mean a good eco-balance, and a photovoltaic array is planned for the roof.

From 2006, all Alnatura’s supplies from Italy have come by train. In order to reduce further climate-damaging emissions caused by transport, since the beginning of this year Alnatura has transferred one lorry-load between south and north Germany from road to rail every day. This reduces the greenhouse gases on this route by around 70 %. They are planning more projects for even more environmentally friendly forms of transport.

A consequence of increasing their turnover and extending the network of stores is an expansion of the Alnatura workforce. Last year saw 300 new employees joining the company, raising the total to 2,100. Thus, Alnatura is still one of the biggest employers in the organic industry in Germany. Up to 200 people apply for every job at Alnatura, and the approximately 12,000 applications each year are at an all time high. “I want to do work that has meaning” is the most frequently stated reason most people give for wanting a job at Alnatura. This motivation is in line with the conviction of Götz Rehn : “Business should serve people and their development – not the reverse. This is precisely the reason why the objective of what we do is not economic success itself but its consequences.”
Against the background once again of positive corporate development, Alnatura employees receive a share in the added value in the form of an Alnatura shopping voucher worth € 700. (Picture: The team in the new Alnatura store in Munich)

Compared with 20 years ago, the number of people who eat vegetarian food is 15 times higher. Between 3 and 9 % of the population are considered to be vegetarian, and 1 % to be vegan. Alnatura customers too increasingly want to buy vegetarian and vegan food for ethical and ecological reasons. More than half of Alnatura brand articles are, according to the listed ingredients, already vegan, and therefore they make an important contribution to climate protection. They are planning to put a vegan label on all vegan products.

Something that the public is becoming increasingly aware of is dealing responsibly with food that can no longer be sold. According to a study of the ministry responsible for consumer protection, in Germany 82 kg of food items per head are disposed of every year. Of this figure, 5 % is attributable to the trade. To reduce this amount to a minimum, Alnatura operates a sophisticated scheduling system that enables the stores to order the precise volume of goods they need every day. They do so on the basis of sales forecasts and their years of experience. This ordering system usually results in a balance between the amount ordered and the amount sold. Products that have nearly reached their ‘sell by’ date are sold at reduced prices or given to various social institutions, such as local initiatives to alleviate food poverty.

Regarding agriculture: three-quarters of crop plant varieties have been lost in the last 100 years, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. To combat this loss of diversity, Alnatura has for many years supported initiatives dealing with organic seed and plant breeding. In the last ten years, the company donated nearly half a million euros for the development of new seed varieties and the preservation of biodiversity. In 2013 alone, € 96,000 raised by the annual seed campaign (picture) went to the organizations Zukunftsstiftung Landwirtschaft, the Wildtierstiftung and Mellifera e.V.

When it opens new stores, Alnatura regularly arranges fund-raising campaigns for local charitable projects: nearly €43,000 have been donated this financial year to, for example, kindergartens, environmental protection organizations and initiatives to help homeless people.

At the cultural level, Alnatura’s collaboration with the Städel Museum since 2006 has resulted in motifs of Albrecht Dürer being on display in Alnatura stores (picture). It’s a surprise to see art in an unusual setting, but it means that customers see the works of the Renaissance artist in a new light, and at the same time it is an invitation to the big Dürer exhibition in the Frankfurt Städel Museum from 23 October 2013 to 2 February 2014.

As part of the company’s 30th anniversary celebrations next year, they are planning numerous events that encourage people to join in, including a design competition for customers and regional nature conservation and environmental projects in the locations where the company has its stores.