Personnel lack at Edeka: Future of the Fresh Empe in danger?

Personnel lack at Edeka: Future of the Fresh Empe in danger?

In Neumünster, food dealers observe a worrying trend: the fresh food counter is missing. This situation is not new, but is becoming increasingly critical. In addition to the already tense situation due to the corona pandemic, retailers are fighting with rising prices, problems in the supply chains and an acute shortage of skilled workers. Especially the fresh counters, a decisive element in retail, are now being tested.

As the Food newspaper reported, Edeka plans to transform some of his fresh food counter. In order to compensate for the lack of specialists, one thinks loudly about the concept of a "flexible counter". Specifically, this means that customers can independently remove products in certain periods instead of waiting for an operating service. This new model could be used in particular in peripheral times, while specialist staff remains present in peak times.

shortage of skilled workers in the butcher's industry

The industry is under deep change. A look at the current figures of the German Fleischer Association shows that the number of training relationships for meat sellers decreased between 2021 and 2022 from 2,629 to 2,227. The decline is alarming because in 2003 this number was still over 10,000. A trend that affects not only Edeka, but all food dealers who rely on specialized specialists.

In addition to the internal challenges, large chains such as Edeka and Rewe are in direct competition with local butchers. Both sides not only fight for the favor of customers, but also for the valuable staff. Edeka Südwest is forced to find solutions to ensure trading performance with a dwindling personnel. Rainer Huber, the head of Edeka Südwest, commented concerns about an upcoming decline in staff and working hours by about 20 percent.

not only when recruiting specialists, the problems are increasing; Buyer behavior has also changed. More and more people keep their money together and seem to be less ready to pay more for high -quality, fresh products at the counter. The younger generation customers report different market analyzes, are strongly focused on quick solutions, which reduces the attractiveness of fresh counters.

The effects on sales

The decline in sales is worrying for the food dealers. Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) recorded a decline in sales in food retail by 3.7 percent in April 2024 compared to the previous year. Cucumbers and cheese are just a few of the products for which fewer customers are willing to spend their money in the shops.

Even if EDEKA was able to achieve sales of 39.3 billion euros in the course of the year - an increase of 7.7 percent - this does not mean that everything is rosy. You managed to prevent price increases through intensive negotiations with suppliers, but that does not change the fact that an increase in sales at the fresh counters would be urgently needed to keep sales stable. Compared to packaged, the fresh food counter generates more income, which makes it all the more valuable for retailers.