Kaufland gears up for assault on Coles, Woolies

ELI GREENBLAT
SEPTEMBER 17, 2018
The Australian
German supermarket giant Kauf­land is quickly filling out its senior managerial and administrative ranks to prepare for a possible launch of its discount stores in Australia next year, as it reveals it is now shifting its set-up phase to “the next level” by recruiting area managers and key category ­buyers.
In particular, Kaufland is seeking to hire area managers that would have underneath them as many as 600 store team members, suggesting Kaufland’s initial rollout in the Australian market will include about five of its big-box style 4000sq m supermarkets.
Following the recent appointment of 28-year-old Kaufland executive Julie Kern as the new country manager for its burgeoning Australian operations, the German chain has quickened its pace to prepare for its maiden store opening.
Ms Kern flew back to Germany last week and as she spends time with her superiors to discuss and forge the discount chain’s strategy for the $90 billion Australian grocery sector her local team will be busy interviewing and hiring new ranks of senior ­executives and crucial administrative roles.
A flood of new roles now being advertised by Kaufland includes area managers, quality assurance managers, HR and payroll co-ordinators, tax managers, regulatory affairs managers, property developers and a slew of category buyers across grocery departments such as dairy, flowers and plants, private label, health, baby and beauty and household and cleaning.
Some of the senior appointments, such as area managers, ­include 14 months’ training in ­Europe and on return to Australia, use of a fully maintained BMW company car.
“Kaufland Australia is recruiting a number of key roles to take the set-up phase to the next level in preparedness for the future of our operations here in Australia,’’ a spokeswoman for Kaufland told The Australian.
“Senior leadership roles such as area managers involve a period of training in Europe to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to operate Kaufland stores here in Australia.
“The recent recruitment drive is a testament to our commitment to attracting and retaining high calibre talent who are looking to grow and fast-track their careers with Kaufland Australia.”
Kaufland, a subsidiary of the Schwarz Group, is the world’s fourth-largest retailer, and has its eyes on Australia to cause even further competitive pressures for dominant players Woolworths, Coles and Aldi.
Morgan Stanley has estimated that, based on European penetration, Australia could support as many as 295 Kaufland stores in the long term, driving annual sales of more than $3bn from 56 stores within six years of its first store opening.
The German discount chain operates more than 1230 stores in central and eastern Europe and it has said it believes the Australian market represents the best destination for its first stores outside Europe. Its stores are dominated by private label products and cover categories including fresh and dry, packaged groceries, general merchandise, consumer electronics, clothing, hardware and housewares.
A Kaufland store can sell more than 30,000 products compared with about 20,000 items at a mainstream supermarket and 1350 products at Aldi.
Ms Kern will be joined in Australia by Malte Nousch, a former strategy director at British supermarket chain Tesco and associate at consultancy McKinsey.
Morgan Stanley analyst Thomas Kierath wrote in a recent in-depth report into Kaufland’s Australian ambitions that a “flexible store format” could see the retailer roll out stores in Australia at a faster rate than Costco and Aldi.