Basic: launch of its 28th organic supermarket

Basic’s 28th organic supermarket opened in Rosenheim to the south-east of Munich on 21 November 2013. Interested customers will find a 12,000 article organic range in the rather inconspicuous Basic store, that is located next to a jeans shop and opposite an Aldi and a Lidl. The front has two big windows with the words “Der frische Bio-Supermarkt” (fresh organic supermarket) above them and, looking through, you can see the bakery area, the bistro and the fruit and vegetable department. On that first day there was a great deal of encouragement and praise. The nine tasting stands set up by manufacturers, and the managing director Stephan Paulke and his staff, received a lot of positive feedback from new customers. On the evening before the opening, a party was held for the company employees.

(Picture: Stephan Paulke)
“In the preparation phase, we had a lot of work to do, but were completely relaxed about it,” says a delighted Stephan Paulke about the time the shop was being fitted out and the stock was being moved in. The reason for the success of these operations was precise planning and the input of the 22 new employees, who had been thoroughly trained in various other stores. Many of them had been working for Basic since May/June, the young manager of the store, Mathias Draxlbauer, explains. He has been working for the Munich company for eight years. “It’s a dream, working here,” says the 30-year-old about his new job in Rosenheim, even though he is on duty for 45 hours a week, and sometimes more. In contrast, relaxed shopping is what the customers get, who can drive right up to the store and park in the communal car park (300 parking spaces). This new Basic store is expecting 600 customers a day to come through its doors. (Picture: Store manager Mathias Draxlbauer and Stephan Paulke)

Paulke expects to open at least two or three new stores in 2014. In the current year, the turnover of the 27 stores in Germany and Austria plus the six weeks of the 28th store is estimated to be €118m, which is growth of 6 % compared with 2012. Last year, turnover came to €111m. The last store to be opened was on 24.10.2012 in Augsburg.

With Basic’s well known colour scheme – yellow for the floor, blue for the ceiling and orange for some sections of the walls – the new Basic store (800 m²) creates a feel-good ambience. Highlights are the various fresh food sections offering a huge choice: at the entrance you find fruit and vegetables (picture above), next to which is a glazed 50 m² chilled room that you can walk through. This is where sensitive products like lettuces, cucumbers and fresh carrots are on display. When you leave the chilled room, a turn to the left takes you into the well-stocked meat, sausage and cheese department. The somewhat angular chilled counters have two advantages: there’s enough space to put purchases on, and they are at just the right distance for the customer to take them from the counter. Approximately 140 sorts of cheese and 100 sausage and fresh meat items are on sale. If customers want mince, a mincing machine produces it to order. Vegan, gluten-free and lactose-free products are labelled as such and prominently displayed. (Picture: Master butcher Vollrath holding a Parma ham).

“Trading is a cultural event, and we shouldn’t be afraid to say so,” is the credo of Stephan Paulke. Directly by the entrance, a tree trunk on which a tap has been fixed welcomes the customer (see the first picture). Customers can wash a piece of fruit here. At other points in the store you see a big picture hanging above the shelves. “We’ve got a pool of 20 pictures that we use in our stores. They’re nothing to do with products but depict only nature and landscapes.” The company already had links with the artist Anneli Jungblut in Breitbrunn, and she was commissioned to produce and display a picture. Paulke explains his plan: “In future, we want to display art in our other stores too.”

He comments philosophically: “The changing zeitgeist is the wind that carries us forwards.” Together with purchasing manager Gerhard Sailer, he is convinced that their product ranges can be further developed in the future and that there will be much more demand for certain product groups. Examples are the environmentally friendly detergents and cleaning materials, that customers see as lagging behind organic food. To get people used to the idea, for a year Basic has been offering a special pack of AlmaWin. For €9.99, there is a 6-bottle plastic carrier with one of liquid detergent, WC cleaner, household cleaner, glass cleaner, a trial pack of washing powder and a sport/outdoor detergent. Sailer is confident: “This is where we’re expecting the real revolution and a surge in demand.” Another step in this direction is the re-organization of the detergent and household cleaner section. You often find products arranged by brand, but at this Basic store you see all detergents next to each other, all glass cleaners, etc. At first, the manufacturers were definitely not in favour, but it turned out that the re-organization led to double-digit growth,” says Paulke. The new approach was trialled in advance in another store and the results were very positive. (Picture: A Basic employee standing in front of a painting)

Nine wholefood manufacturers, including Soto, Herbaria (picture) and Provamel, had set up their small tasting stands for the day of the launch. At each stand, a representative of the manufacturer spoke with the customers and offered samples. All this activity livened up the store, with the customers also being given lots of other offers that included information about the products. Looking ahead, Paulke sees Basic developing into a leader in the field of innovation. “For the pre-Christmas period, we’ve ordered around 3,000 Christmas stars in red and white for all our 28 stores.” Presumably the only organic supermarket offering them in organic quality. In the display windows of the fruit and vegetable department near the entrance, there will be repeated campaigns selling plants. (Picture: Herbaria presented its new pralines with Christmas spices)

(Picture gallery from the left: View of the new store; Basic purchasing manager Gerhard Sailer at the stand of the organic butcher Pichler; vast selection on the cheese counter)



Customers can reach the bakery goods department with bistro (picture) without having to go through the whole store. This makes life easier for people buying bread and rolls in the morning and for lunchtime guests who come in for soup, soufflé, quiche or pasta pockets. The bistro can seat 30 people at its wooden tables. In the afternoon, there are naturally lots of cakes and hot drinks for you to choose from.

Tip:

www.basic-ag.de