Unimarkt Withdrawal: Rewe Takes Over 21 Branches

After the end of the local supplier chain Unimarkt, the Rewe Group is taking over 21 branches - 13 of them in Upper Austria, six in Styria, and two in Lower Austria. The majority will be operated as Adeg stores in the future, some locations will become Billa or Penny branches, Rewe announced. Already last week, Spar had announced that it would take over 23 locations. In total, a good 90 Unimarkt branches are up for sale.

Rewe Secures Local Supply in Three Federal States

The takeover of the 21 branches by the Rewe Group is subject to the antitrust approval by the Federal Competition Authority (BWB) and the Federal Cartel Attorney, it was emphasized. The purchase price has been kept confidential. "We are pleased about this important step to secure local supply in Austria. Our goal now is to open up perspectives for the affected employees and independent retailers," emphasized Marcel Haraszti, board member of REWE International.

Upper Austria as a Strategic Growth Market

The majority of the branches will be run by independent retailers as Adeg in the future. Some locations, which were already operated by Unimarkt in the branch system, will in the future operate under Billa or Penny. "Especially the cooperative structures of Adeg offer the Unimarkt retailers an ideal basis for continuing their markets," Unimarkt Managing Director Andreas Hämmerle is convinced.

Upper Austria, where about half of the Unimarkt branches for sale are located, is an attractive terrain for the Rewe Group. Because here, compared to other federal states, it still has a relatively low market share. Currently, the Rewe Group in Upper Austria has 5,600 employees. The branch network in the state currently includes 160 Billa and 46 Penny branches, 40 Adeg markets, and 75 Bipa locations.

More Than Half of the Unimarkt Branches Already Allocated

The food retailer Unimarkt, based in Traun, announced at the end of September that it wanted to sell all of its more than 90 locations and withdraw from the market. 620 employees have been registered with the AMS early warning system. In addition to Spar and Rewe, other competitors such as Lidl and Hofer also signaled interest in locations. The UNIGroup wants to complete the sale by the end of the year. The wholesale and logistics of the UNIGroup are not affected.

With the takeovers by Rewe and Spar, almost half of the Unimarkets seem to be secured for the time being. Spar is taking over eleven branches in Styria, five in Upper Austria, four in Lower Austria, two in Salzburg, and one in Burgenland. The employees are to be retained. The purchase price has also been kept confidential here, and this transaction is also subject to the necessary antitrust approval.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.