Germany: Organic retail chains growing

In terms of new openings in 2009, the chains with 30 new stores (52 %) were slightly ahead of owner-managed stores (28 new stores or 48 %). The difference in terms of store size was much clearer: Alnatura, Bio Company, Denn’s Bio and the other chains accounted for about 61 % of the new retail space, that came to a total of roughly 15, 575 m². The equivalent figure in 2008 was 59 %. The number of chains in Germany is still 18.

With five stores each, Biofrischmarkt GmbH and LPG have joined the ranks of the chains. Given its current situation, we have not included Vitalia in the statistics for the time being. Also, after the demise of e.o., its successor company Kompledo does not have the minimum five stores to qualify as a chain (see below). The number of stores belonging to the chains is 240. The total retail space of all the chains is shown by research carried out by Organic-Market.Info to be 131,831 m². This means the average retail area per store is 549 m².

18 companies with at least five outlets each are currently operating the 240 chain stores in Germany. In just a few cases, however, not all their stores exceed the 200 m² of retail space that Organic-Market.Info uses to define large-scale specialist stores and organic supermarkets.
 

Thus just under a half (approximately 46 %) of all specialist organic stores and organic supermarkets belong to a chain. Eleven of these chains expanded in 2009 and opened at least one new store. The market leaders, Alnatura and Denn’s Bio, created eight and ten new outlets respectively. The average retail area in the new stores, on which Organic-Market.Info’s bases its evaluation of 2009, is 519 m². This figure is 71 m² (16 %) higher than the 448 m² average retail space available to individual operators. Our calculations show that the average area of all new openings is 476 m². In north Germany, Aleco is continuing its moderate expansion with one new opening. This regional chain now operates seven stores with a total of 3,060 m².
 
In terms of the number of stores, Alnatura was the leader in 2009 and, since December, now has 53 organic supermarkets. The company, that has its headquarters in Hessen, opened eight new SuperNaturMarkt stores across the whole of Germany in 2009: in Alsbach-Hähnlein (picture), Berlin (2), Bremen, Filderstadt, Frankfurt, Munich and Regensburg. The average retail area of these new stores is 614 m². In the last financial year ending in September 2009, Alnatura’s SuperNaturMarkt stores registered a turnover of ca. 180 million euros.
 

From the point of view of the number of stores, Basic slipped from second to third place below Denn’s Bio. After a comprehensive consolidation programme at the beginning of the year, the company opened one new store in Munich in 2009. The chain currently operates 24 stores in Germany and two in Austria. With an average of 739 m², Basic’s retail space still exceeds that of Alnatura (589 m²). With 24 outlets, Basic has a total area of 17,735 m², whereas the total retail area of Alnatura’s 53 stores is 31,216 m².
 

Bio-Company launched its two new stores in Hamburg in the districts St.Georg and Rahlstedt (picture). However, the store in Rahlstedt is due to be closed very soon. The chain currently has 16 outlets with 8,100 m² and is planning three new stores in 2010 – two in Berlin and one in Brandenburg.
 

With the launch of its fifth store, the company Biofrischmarkt GmbH (with its headquarters in the Saarland and owned by the Leimroth family) has joined the chains. The stores have an average of 350 m² of retail space. A new store was opened in Riegelsberg in November, and in December an existing outlet in Pirmasens was altered and extended.
 

Denn’s Bio created ten new organic supermarkets in 2009, although one store in Pforzheim was closed. The company opened new stores in Bamberg, Braunschweig, Frankfurt, Göppingen, Herzogenaurach, Mühlacker (cooperating with Füllhorn), Worms and Würzburg. Denn’s Bio took over the two stores (with a total of 1,100 m²) that used to belong to BioWelt Veil in Nürtingen and Reutlingen. At the end of 2009, the company had 37 stores with a total retail area of 20,610 m².
 

The chain ebl, that has its headquarters in Nuremberg, has launched a new store in Nuremberg itself and has moved its store in Zirndorf to bigger premises (picture). ebl’s 16 organic stores have an estimated total retail area of 6,800 m².
 

The north German chain Erdkorn did not open any new stores in 2009 and closed one store in Hamburg and one in Lübeck. At the end of 2009, the company’s internet site referred to nine organic stores: in Berlin, Hamburg (four), Hanover, Kiel, Cologne and Mülheim. The store in Mülheim was closed at the beginning of 2010.
 

The company LPG Naturkost in Berlin opened its fifth store in October 2009 and can now be regarded as a chain. A special feature of this company is two particularly large specialist stores measuring 1,400 m² and 1,600 m².

SuperBioMarkt AG, under the management of Michael Radau, opened two new stores in Bergisch-Gladbach in March (picture) and in Münster in December 2009. The store in Greven was closed on 15 November 2009. This joint stock company currently operates 15 stores.
 

The Berlin organic chain Viv-BioFrischeMarkt is continuing to grow at its usual speed and opened its ninth store in May in the Schönhauser Allee in Berlin. The ownership of the company has, however, undergone some change. Ulrich Unbekannt has withdrawn from his position as co-managing director with Buschek Unbekannt. The company’s main wholesaler Dennree has taken over a good 70 % of the firm.
 

There was no change in the number of VollCorner outlets in 2009. One new opening in Munich and the withdrawal from one store that is now being operated independently leave the number of stores at seven.

 

Expansion is set to continue in 2010: Alnatura, Biotheke Müller, Bio Company, Denn’s Bio, Rinklin, Rödelheimer Naturkostmarkt and Vorwerk Podemus are planning new specialist stores or have opened some already.