EVG Landwege: Organics from nearby

This year, the Lübeck producer-consumer cooperative called EVG Landwege can look back on 15 successful years. The five Landwege stores work closely with the roughly 30 farms located within a radius of 70 kilometres - the slogan “Organics from Nearby” is a reality people experience in their daily lives here. Last year, the cooperative ventured out of Lübeck and opened its first store in Bad Schwartau, and six months later a fourth outlet in the Hanse city of Lübeck itself. The new location now houses the administration and a central kitchen as well.

 
(Picture: The fourth Landwege store in Lübeck is in a listed building)

Several premieres accompanied the 25th anniversary of the EVG Landwege association in 2013: for the first time two stores were opened in one year, with the total rising from three to five. They also leased stores with over 500 m² of retail space for the first time –  the store in Bad Schwartau has 800 m2 and the fourth in Lübeck 700 m2. So in a single year the total retail area of EVG Landwege e.G. has doubled, and turnover has risen by 30 %. Also, Bad Schwartau was the first example of the company venturing Lübeck. After conversion work that took more than six months and a six-figure investment the store was launched in the spring of 2013. (Picture: There was a lot of interest in the opening in Bad Schwartau) 

 

Similarly, after extensive work on converting the premises, in October 2013 they moved into the store in Ziegelstraße, just outside the city centre in the St. Lorenz district of Lübeck. In the listed building you find an organic supermarket and a central kitchen and the administration that moved here from the former cramped conditions in Kanalstraße. Ziegelstraße is a proven location for food outlets: the building used to house various food stores like Edeka, Lidl and Penny, that have now built new premises nearby. “We had had our eye on the historic building in Ziegelstraße for some time,” explains the head of Landwege, Klaus Lorenzen. “We saw that we could create a big, high-quality store here that would offer a special shopping experience.” (Picture: The interior of the historic building is modern and high quality)
 

The move has been a success. The cooperative, that this year can look back on 15 years of trading, spent around €600,000 on the store. On top of that, the large-scale kitchen cost more than €250,000  and the administration facilities approximately €150,000.  Now all three arms of the business are under one roof, and there is still space for expansion. Above all, extending the kitchen facilities was urgent. The demand for meals is growing significantly, and the old kitchen in Kanalstraße had become too small. The central kitchen (120 m²) next to the store will in future supply all five stores with around 200 meals a day. The offer is to be extended. The kitchen also produces a growing selection of home-made ready meals and specialities like spreads and conserves. “The bistros and the products we make ourselves are a good way of differentiating us from the rest,” explains Lorenzen, who regards their high investment in the long term as money well spent.
 

All in all, the cooperative invested approximately €1.7m in the two locations in 2013, with the 600 members of EVG contributing a third and the rest being financed by loans from the GLS Bank. Before the decision was made to expand, and then in the planning phase, the member businesses were fully involved. According to Lorenzen, they were clearly in favour of growth: “The message from our suppliers was that they wanted to grow with us and not with other companies.” Some of the 30 member farms generate around 50 % of their turnover with Landwege. The company is supplied by the wholesalers Grell and Weiling. When they decided on expansion, they were concerned to secure the location in Lübeck. Landwege got the contract for Ziegelstraße in preference to their competitor  Dennree, that has now found other premises in Lübeck and will open in the course of 2014 . (Picture: Landwege CEO Klaus Lorenzen)
 

Lorenzen highlights close collaboration as one of the factors contributing to the success of the Landwege cooperative. For example during a workshop, together with the farms, the employees and the consumer members, they drew up a future strategy paper that Lorenzen regards as a special achievement: “We’ve created close ties, and that creates a sense of security.” (Picture: Informative homepage of the Landwege stores)
 

Lorenzen regards farm visits, inspecting building operations and comprehensive  communication as important aspects of the commitment between producers, consumers and the members of EVG. “In 2013, for the first time we campaigned for new members of the cooperative and we got 80. That’s a great success. As far as financial involvement is concerned, it became clear that many people want to know where their money is being invested.”  This is where Lorenzen finds the combination of cooperative and the charitable educational work of Landwege particularly valuable. The association and the cooperative are very active, offering regular events and information sessions that include cookery courses on the farm Ringstedtenhof, lectures, gourmet evenings in the stores and much more besides. The EVG can be found on Facebook and would like to reach a lot more people with a redesigned and even more user-friendly website. (Picture: The Landwege Association arranges many activities for children on the farm Ringstedtenhof)
 

However, sound work in the branches is of the utmost importance. By means of thorough training of staff, they work on improving competence, dealing with customers and cooperation: “In six months we’ve gone from 60 to over 100 employees. To ensure that things run smoothly and to maintain our high standard of advice and customer service, we support our staff with training, team meetings and close liaison between producers, the management of our cooperative and the members.” Finding qualified staff and trainees in Lübeck is not a problem, and they currently have seven young trainees. “Lübeck is a committed green city that aims to become a model eco city. It already proclaims its status as a GM-free community and fair trade city.” They’re currently converting the 300,000 meals for the municipal day nurseries to organic, and an organic regional market is planned for the Hanse city celebrations, a major event that attracts a million visitors. EVG Landwege is closely involved with the various initiatives in the city. (Picture: Landwege emphasises the value of qualified staff, especially on the service counters)
 

Back to the store in Ziegelstraße: after renovating the premises, the shop was very tastefully and smartly fitted out by the Hamburg shop fitters Jäckstein. A number of individual features, like separating the bistro area from the bakery goods service counter with birch tree trunks, make the store a pleasant place to be. The impression created by the fittings is one of high quality, and they underline the focal points of EVG Landwege with, for example, big photos of their suppliers. Special emphasis has been placed on the fresh food departments, with their wide-ranging selection of fruit and fine vegetables, potatoes, field vegetables and eggs, and the bakery, meat and cheeses counters. The wine department and the natural cosmetics department have also been well designed, with plenty of daylight near the checkouts. For Lorenzen, a special feature in the product range (approximately 6,000 items) is the selection of magazines. They were introduced a few years ago and were welcomed by customers. (Picture: Landwege is especially strong in fresh foods, that generate 68 % of turnover. 30 % of their offer comes from the 30 member farms)

(Pictures: The Landwege store: functional design but with great attention to detail)











Among the highlights are the bistros. The bistro in the Ziegelstraße store can seat thirty people in the wide entrance area within easy reach of the bakery goods counter. When the weather is good, the sliding doors provide access to the seats outside, next to the car park for about 30 cars. The bistro in the new Lübeck store has proved very popular with the public. In Bad Schwartau, a gourmet evening with around 200 participants has helped to increase footfall and customer loyalty: “We didn’t have a specialist organic store in the city, only the organic product ranges of Edeka, City-Markt and Famila. By putting on events, we introduce customers to the specialist trade,” Lorenzen explains. Landwege’s target for 2014 is turnover of €11m.

(Pictures: Checkouts, chilled counters, bistro in Bad Schwartau)