The Germans pay less attention to the price: Price is no longer cool – Tagesspiegel

Champagne in magnum, beef from South America or at least 16 months matured Spanish serrano ham: Before Easter again numerous precious items have found their way onto the shelves and cabinets of the German discounters. Aldi, Lidl and Co. want to show that they can do more than just cheap. This year, perhaps more than ever, because the Germans evacuate when buying food the quality increasingly give priority over price, as evidenced by the latest figures of the Society for Consumer Research (GfK).

This has consequences for the retail industry. Was it a long time, the discounters, who taught the classical supermarkets fear, this has now reversed. Boosted by significant wage increases, low inflation and secure jobs buy the Germans again often in the supermarket, even if they have to dig a little deeper into their pockets for more choices and the service. The supermarkets enlarged in 2015, according to the consumer research its market share noticeably – at the expense of discounters. The affluent feel have consumer demand “lifted high to the next level”, according to the GfK survey.

Cheap is no longer enough

In fact, Aldi, Lidl and Co. have long recognized that cheap is no longer enough. You are now going to the changing customer requirements into account: With generous shops and a wertigeren goods. The best example is Aldi. The discounter, who sat for a long time entirely to store brands, now takes more and more branded products into its range. Whether it comes to pizza, cola, detergents or skin cream: The customer can find at Aldi now besides the cheap store brand also more expensive brand products.

“With brands like Coca-Cola or Red Bull speaks at Aldi young brand savvy customers who previously often a bow to the discounters made,” says trade expert Martin Fassnacht of the business school WHU , Moreover, his regular customers, the company simultaneously bind better per se. Because now would no longer have to compete to buy these branded products. A declaration of war is this strategy especially for the archrival Lidl, the hitherto regarded brand products to discounters price as its domain. And Lidl accepted the challenge.

“A discount may not be chic. That would damage its price image”

So fell in recent months, prices for a wide range of branded goods, the Aldi had added to its shelves, massive slide around. Often, the previous Special Price for length price. But Aldi and Lidl not only focus on branded goods at bargain prices to make up ground against the resurgent supermarket chains.

Visually upgrade to the discounters and shorten in newly stores the distance to Edeka, Rewe and Co. In the new Aldi supermarket in Kirchseeon near Munich about is not just background music to Shopping more enjoyable, there is also a coffee machine with a bench to rest and a customer toilet with baby. Already there are the first voices that warn against the discounters to exaggerate their own finishing: “A discount may not be chic. This would damage its price image, “warns trade expert Fassnacht. (AP)