Chosun Daily

Survival tactics: stalling on downhill slope series #8

Survival tactics: stalling on downhill slope series #8

  • November 23, 2011
  • min read

Chosun Daily

Survival tactics: stalling on downhill slope series #8

In the small city of Ingolstadt, Bayern in Southern Germany, there is a supermarket of which customers are mainly those over their fifties. Even the name of the outlet is Edeka 50+.

Noticing many elderly retirees live in Ingolstadt, Edeka, one of the largest supermarket chains in Germany, transformed the space of over 30,000 square meters into a retail outlet specialized for the elderly in May 2008. The height of the shelves was adjusted to 1.6 meters, 20 centimeters lower than other outlets, and the checkout counters were installed lower than average. Various shopping cart models were adopted including those that can be connected to wheelchairs and that can be easily pushed by the physically disabled. In addition, the market attached magnifying glasses to the carts so that customers can easily read small letters in the product information. They took detailed care in everything ranging from non-reflective floor and wide aisles to easy parking and sphygmomanometers installed in the resting areas. They even changed sales staff to those in their fifties and higher similar to the customers. This outlet was enthusiastically welcomed by the residents immediately after its opening. Annual sales rose as much as 50% in the first year.