LPG: soon to have 20,000 members

The founders and owners of the organic supermarket LPG in Berlin are very happy with a 15 percent growth in membership in 2011. The organic market in Berlin is booming. Co-managing director Ludwig Rieswick sees no sign of the market contracting. On the contrary, increasing numbers of people are convinced by the concept of LPG, with its holistic approach to organic and regional products, a bistro, children’s play area, the use of eco-electricity and fair wages for its employees – a model with appeal. A final act of commitment: a new store has been fitted out with LED lighting. (Picture: LPG organic supermarket in Berlin-Friedenau in a 1920s cinema)
Ludwig Rieswick assumes that the organic store opened in the middle of June 2011 is the first supermarket in Germany to have only LED lighting. Although the initial outlay was about 40,000 euros more than usual, the saving in electricity costs will be around 8,000 euros a year. This means that the investment in the store (940 square-metres at that time) will pay for itself in five years. Instead of 17 kilowatts only 11 have been installed, but the lighting level is above average, which helps you to have a good look at the interesting building – the Roxy Palace, built in 1929 as a cinema and office block. It had room for 1106 cinema-goers. If you look up “Roxy-Palast” in Wikipedia, you’ll find that it was designed by Martin Punitzer in the “Neue Sachlichkeit” style - the functional trend typical of the 1920s – and that it has been a listed building since 1988.
(Picture: interesting glass facade in the otherwise unprepossessing 1920s building)

In the mid 1970s the cinema was no longer profitable. A carpet store was opened by Gota in1987, but it closed in 2009. “Since the autumn of 2010, the building has been completely renovated, and certain features like the underfloor heating, thermal insulation and the linoleum on the floor were taken over from the Frankfurt owner of the property. The ceiling, that houses a huge extraction unit, is a gleaming new white. Since people used to smoke in cinemas, a ventilation system of this size was a necessity. In February 2012, the cosmetics area (about 300 m²) was created in the gallery, and this expanded the retail area of the store 1240 m² - a good size to present up to15,000 articles that LPG stocks. The various departments in the store hold a wide array of products. The chilled shelves for dairy and soya products alone are 12 metres long and the well-stocked counter for sausage, meat and cheese, part of which is self-service, is the same (picture).
The wine department too, with around 200 wines, is of above average size. As well as food, key features of the store are detergents and cleaners, children’s clothes (picture on left), gift articles and, of course, natural cosmetics.

Every day, 15,000 customers come through the doors of one the six large-scale LPG stores, whose abbreviation in German has come to stand for tasty – value for money - healthy. It all began in 1994, and in those days the abbreviation, that was reminiscent of an agricultural cooperative in the former GDR, stood for an association for buying agricultural products. Depending on the store, up to 70 % of sales are attributable to members, who have a price advantage of about 20 %. All products are labelled with two prices, which is a big incentive to do most of your shopping at LPG. (Picture: Ludwig Rieswick in front of the store at Hauptstr.78 in Berlin-Friedenau)

Each LPG member pays a fixed sum every month:

• € 17.90 per adult (no charge for children under 18)
• € 12,78 per adult with a monthly income below 1000 euros net
• € 20,40 is the couple and family rate for two adults in a household (no charge for children under 18)
• € 10,20 per person in shared accommodation (3 or more people)

With this revenue from easily calculated regular contributions by members, the company can pay a good part of its fixed costs (rent, wages, etc.) instead of charging more for the goods. Customers enjoy a big advantage with this system – the more an LPG customer buys in an LPG store, the more financially worthwhile is the membership.

Ludwig Rieswick estimates that about 40 % of his goods come from the region of Berlin and Brandenburg plus some adjacent areas. A very significant change if you think back a few years: shortly after unification of Germany at the beginning of the 1990s, there were hardly any economic links with the surrounding region. Of the 40 million euros that LPG achieved with its six stores in 2011, goods to the value of eight million euros were sourced direct from manufacturers and producers in the region. Added to this figure is the turnover of Terra-Naturkost GmbH, that also focuses on regional supplies. Despite increasing direct sourcing, the company has a relationship based on trust with its regional wholesaler because their sales too are on the increase. Some of the producers deliver direct to the stores; others deliver to a storage facility in Neukölln. From there the goods are driven daily to the stores in a 17t lorry. LPG orders direct from only one citrus producer in Italy and one winery in Spain. (Picture: Clear labelling of regional products)

The counters, the checkouts and the bakery in the entrance area are painted a lush green; the walls are yellow - the company colour. The six LPG stores employ 240 people, with as few as possible being engaged in administration. A manifestation of the company’s connection with the region is its support for local initiatives – providing goods and grants for celebrations by clubs and organisations. Both owners of the firm are particularly committed to helping children living in poverty. So the proceeds from various activities, such as a tombola, are donated to the local children-in-need service in Kreuzberg. A list of recipients can be viewed under “Sponsoring, Willkommen im Bio-Paradies”. (Picture: Checkout in the cosmetics and gift department)

The two founders and managing directors of the company consider the organic market in Berlin and region and the general development towards sustainability in Germany to be a sound foundation for the positive development of their company in the years to come. So it’s not surprising that Werner Schauerte and Ludwig Rieswick are already preparing three more projects in Berlin for the next 18 months – each with retail space between 600 und 1200 m².











(Picture on left: Fresh organic green food; in the middle: meat and sausage at LPG Friedenau; on the right: view from the gallery)