"Always the bad guy"

Rewe boss calls for more appreciation

Rewe Austria boss Marcel Haraszti

(Bild: APA/TOBIAS STEINMAURER)

Are we too harsh on supermarket giants? Rewe Austria boss Marcel Haraszti misses the public's appreciation. He also expects more commitment from a future government.

"Austria is not just an industrialized country, we are also a trading country," said the Billa/Bipa Group CEO on Monday at the Club of Economic Publicists. Haraszti advocates extending store opening hours, reducing non-wage labor costs and easing zoning regulations.

Rewe boss: "Retail is always the bad guy"
The Rewe Austria boss would like to see more appreciation for the retail sector from politicians and the public. When it comes to the issues of land sealing and inflation, he says, retailers have been unfairly criticized.

"Retail is always the bad guy." However, the retail sector is "an engine for jobs in Austria", says Haraszti. There are around 620,000 retail employees in Austria, with Rewe Group Austria (Adeg, Billa, Billa Plus, Bipa and Penny) currently employing around 47,000 people, including around 2,000 apprentices. Rewe currently has over 2600 vacancies.

Nostalgic nonsense!

Haraszti über Öffnungszeitenregelung

Bild: REWE Group

Opening hours "nostalgic nonsense"
The Austrian head of the supermarket giant has long been pushing for a liberalization of store opening hours, such as an extension from the current maximum of 72 hours to 80 hours between Monday and Saturday. The opening hours regulation is "nostalgic nonsense". However, Haraszti is against a general opening on Sundays. The so-called tourist zones with Sunday opening are sufficient.

As a first step, Haraszti would like to see a complete liberalization of store opening hours for self-service boxes. According to a ruling by the Constitutional Court (VfGH), self-service containers without employees may only remain open as long as supermarkets. According to the Billa/Bipa boss, there is a need for such boxes in Austria because there are around 580 communities in the country without local supply.

A Billa box (60 square meters) with a self-service checkout contains around 1000 items; a box is being tested in Wiener Neudorf opposite the Rewe International Group branch.

Business is going well in Austria
The company boss is satisfied with the sales trend in Austria. This year's business development is "stable". Haraszti did not want to reveal any details about business development. The trends towards private label and promotional products on the one hand and organic, regional, vegetarian and vegan products on the other are continuing.

Rewe lost its market leadership in the domestic food retail sector to Spar a few years ago. This year, Spar has a market share of 36.8 percent and Rewe with Adeg, Billa and Penny has 33.6 percent. The discounters Hofer and Lidl have a market share of around 23 percent. The Rewe Austria boss does not see the high concentration in food retailing in Austria as a problem. "It's the toughest competition there is. We don't give each other anything."