Edeka Zurheide Feine Kost - Inspiration and operational excellence
Located in Dusseldorf Germany is Edekas all one can ask for from a grocery store. In fact it’s much more than just a store selling groceries. It holds inside a mozzarella factory, pasta factory, wine bar and even a michelin star restaurant. This all is obviously above the 10 000 square metres and staggering 60 000 article assortment they hold at their Dusseldorf store.
The entrance does not promise much and the store seems much smaller from that point of view. First the customer sees the fruit and veg which at the time was being replenished. How ever one can see the store striving for quality as the displays are neat, fresh and plentiful.
The store is divided in the floors, the upstairs holding the ambient goods and fruit and veg, and the lower floor holds nearly all the counters and milk. Also some of the ambients lie downstairs. What is the obvious outcome of the giant space and enormous selection is the hardness of finding what you are looking for.
The store hardly is the ideal place to do your top up shopping, as it can take a while to navigate through the store. There are not a lot of signage in the store. Maybe the store trusts the customer to find their way inside the store, but it seems like a clear mistake concept wise. Even though the different departments are separated from each other, it can be hard to navigate when you are there the few first times.
As the store holds a really impressive selection of 60 000 SKUs, the question of whether there is any sense that, rises. There are some really special products, such as a Manuka- honey, on can worth of 139€. Crazy to think there is someone actually willing to pay that much for honey, no matter how healthy or beneficial the product is. This is emphasised in these times of high inflation and household spend going down. On the other hand it creates opportunities to differentiate from the rest.
The dispalys and departments in the store are very inspirational, for example the chocolate brand Lindt’s own sections is showy and gives the sense of value which brands like Lindt seek for.
Edeka Zurheide Feine Kost is a must see for retailers and brands selling groceries as the store is full on innovative solutions and products one can bring to life in a different setting. The store also offers ways to see how bricks and mortar can differentiate and pull itself above online in bringing the customer new ideas, inspiration and huge assortment.
