Revolution at Rewe: Supermarket giant plans end of advertising brochures

Created: 07/28/2022, 13:16

By: Patrick Mayer

Second largest German food retailer: the supermarket chain Rewe.

© IMAGO/Michael Gstettenbauer

The giant grocer Rewe wants to do without advertising brochures from 2023.

The savings in terms of energy are gigantic.

Another supermarket chain is also part of the revolution.

Munich/Cologne - Among the supermarket chains in Germany, the company is a fixture: Rewe.

The subsidiary Penny also belongs to the grocer from Cologne.

Together they have about 5,450 supermarkets spread across the Federal Republic - of which almost 3,300 are Rewe and 2,150 Penny.

The brands are visible everywhere between Berlin and Bavaria, between Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia.

They are part of everyday life for consumers.

Rewe: Supermarket giant will soon no longer send advertising brochures - Penny will also be affected

For decades, everyday life in Germany has also included advertising brochures that end up in mailboxes - sometimes more or less desirable - to encourage potential customers to buy.

But: This should soon be the end of Rewe and Penny.

The company announced on Wednesday (July 27): "As of July 1, 2023, the printing and distribution of the prospectuses will be discontinued." 

Source: rewe-group.com (as of July 28, 1 p.m.)

As the Rewe Group further explained, the conversion saves more than 73,000 tons of paper, 70,000 tons of CO2, 1.1 million tons of water and 380 million kilowatt hours of energy - per year.

The step is to be seen as a signal in view of the impending gas crisis, cost reasons are likely to have played a role in view of the rising gas prices in Germany.

Last but not least, the beneficiaries of the revolutionary decision are environmental protection.

Exemplary: The national director of the German Nature Conservation Union (NABU), Leif Miller, praised Rewe's step as an "important decision for the benefit of nature, which hopefully many competitors in the food retail trade will follow".

Before Rewe, the DIY chain Obi had already decided to no longer send out advertising brochures.

This has been the case since June 2021, while Rewe is taking another year to restructure.

In the video: Supermarket giant Rewe wants to do without advertising brochures from mid-2023

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As the group announced, it wants to reduce the circulation of advertising brochures by four million pieces as a first step from the beginning of August.

Instead, Rewe intends to focus even more on digital advertising and advertisements in traditional media in the future.

Jens-Peter Gödde from the Cologne Institute for Trade Research (IFH) warns the grocers of a risk.

Rewe does without advertising brochures: Many customers look for special offers in them

Gödde explained to the

: "There are many people who plan their weekly shopping with his help and decide where to shop this time." This effect is currently increasing as many consumers face rising food prices as a result of inflation looking for special offers.