The woman in white

 

I’ve laid off blogging about every generative AI development in creating and producing ads because, frankly, it’s all moving at a speed that I can’t keep up with. But it’s interesting to stick my nose in from time to time to see the state of play. 

I last did that in Dec 2024 when everyone was falling over themselves to get AI-ads out for Christmas. I commented on Vodafone and Coca Cola. I was distinctly underwhelmed by it all and hoped for more originality in 2025.

So far, so bad. 

The example I’ve got for you is typical of what’s being churned out (note the language) this year. You can just imagine the conversation between the brand people and the agency on this one:

- We’ve got this great ad icon but she’s over 100 years old. How can we make her culturally relevant for GenZee?

- Well, the perfect combination of Zeitlos and Zeitgeist would be to bring your analogue icon alive with AI!

So, here we go. The icon in question is for Persil - “Die Weiße Dame” (“The white lady”) who first appeared on posters back in 1922. So, in this 100% AI-generated film we see the white lady stepping out of a poster and onto a German street where she takes a flanier through time up to the present day. 

Persil have achieved plenty of firsts with their advertising - in 1932 they were the first brand to advertise in German cinemas and, in 1956, the first on German commercial TV.

But I don’t think this is going to join those triumphs. 

There’s an idea, of sorts. But hardly original. Great ads work through charm, emotion, storytelling - all absent here. Characters with agency? Humour? Surprise? It’s all a bit flat and inhuman.

Some ads work because they’re well-crafted. You can’t even say that here. Yes, it’s OK - but you don’t admire someone’s ability to press a few buttons. 

Unless there’s a healthy dose of human creativity and originality in the way it’s used, AI ads all end up feeling a bit washed-out. 

RETROWURST: Very British October 2007

 

Gosh. This is a find which really does feel as if it’s from another era. I wrote at great length, rather gleefully, about the Germans’ one-sided love affair with all things British. I even went as far as suggesting 6 facets (archetypes? tropes?) of Britishness where Germans feel particularly comfortable, from Rosamunde Pilcher’s Cornwall to Gaslit London.

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As the leaves start turning here in Germany, you could be forgiven for thinking that Germany is turning into Britain if you were to stroll through a local shopping centre. At least two large department stores have a “British” theme for their fashion collections and advertising this Autumn.

 

First up is Karstadt, who announce that “Die Stadt wird very British” (“The City is turning British”). Clothes, perfumes, jewellery and other goods of British origin or style are being promoted by Karstadt with models in green wellies and Argyle pullovers. Even the prices are described as “very British” in the sense of being understated.

 

From the country-set vision of Karstadt, we move to Peek and Cloppenburg who have chosen “London Affairs” as the title of their Autumn fashion collection. The publicity material here is shot in the slightly bohemian world of Notting Hill art galleries.

 

Both of these retailers’ visions demonstrate the rather one-sided love-affair that the Germans have with Britain. While they can build better cars and certainly play better football (and, yes, the German women are World Champions without conceding a single goal), many Germans still hero-worship the British and all things British in a completely unconditional way. There are many people who still insist on speaking English to me even though my German is actually pretty good after 11 years here. It is considered completely normal to send pre-school children off to an “English for Kids (sic)” course. Almost every German you speak to will spin teary-eyed nostalgic yarns of their teenage school exchange trip, normally to some south coast seaside resort. And I remember clearly arriving at my first job here to find the young CEO of the advertising agency dressed up in Harris Tweed and corduroy, complete with 1930s Noel Coward accent. I assumed that this was some sort of elaborate joke at my expense, but it emerged that he always dressed like that (OK, he was a Freiherr and had an English grandmother, but still…)

 

British products and brands to be found in Germany tend to be those of the classic/luxury type. In the fashion world, brands like Burberry, Barbour and Clark’s are well-known. Most supermarkets will carry a few British brands. I spotted Twinings, Chivers, H.P Sauce, Duchy Originals and Walker’s shortbread our local REWE, as well as “Five Counties Cheddar” and “Lancashire with Cranberries” on the cheese counter. Interesting to note, there is no “bog standard” English cheese to be had. On the drinks side, whisky is increasingly popular and there are a number of specialist stores to be found, for real and online such as www.whiskymax.com . The upmarket “back to the good old days” retailer www.manufactum.de carries Colman’s mustard, Pear’s and Bronnley soaps.

 

British, English and Scottish shops, which pander to Britophile Germans as much as ex-pats, can be found in major cities and online. These include www.the-british-shop.de (upmarket look), www.british-shop.de (corner shop look) and www.british-shop-online.de (country diary look.)

 

As in all cases of unrequited love, the lover is absolutely blind to the faults of the beloved. Very little of the less desirable aspects of modern Britain is known about in Germany or is simply ignored as it does not fit into the perfect picture. Thus, any talk of Chavs, ASBOs and drunken teenage girls in town centres will simply bring blank looks, even if the terms are explained. It’s the same with celebrities. The only British celebrities that are known and popular here are those that fit in with some idealised picture of Britain. And Germany has enough of its own Big Brother and PopStar winners and losers without having to know about the antics of the British equivalents.

 

Although I talk about one idealised picture of Britain, in truth, there are many facets or archetypes that one can invoke here to position or promote a British brand. Here are six that the Germans feel particularly comfortable with:

 

Rosamunde Pilcher’s Cornwall

Bizarre as it may seem, the Germans have adopted the romantic novelist as their own and the German TV station ZDF has produced 70, yes, 70, of the lady’s stories for TV. The Cornish landscape and the rather kitschy romances have an appeal beyond just little old ladies and so many Germans have flocked to Pilcher country as a result that both ZDF and Ms Pilcher have awards from the British Tourist Board!

 

Braveheart

The swirl of the kilt, the bagpipes, brave Highlanders and whisky is another world that the Germans feel very happy in. This Celtic archetype is also extended to include the Irish. However, although Walker’s shortbread is a staple of British shops, I don’t believe that that other Scottish delicacy, the deep-fried Mars Bar has yet hit the German palate.

 

Swinging London 

This archetype is probably the closest to the reality of modern Britain and thus the least comfortable. While a certain degree of eccentricity is expected from the Brits, there is reluctance to embrace anyone or anything that is too “out of control”. So the rather plasticky German supermodels Heidi Klum and Claudia Schiffer who are part of this “scene” through their partners are seen as better representatives of this world than real-life London girl Kate Moss.

 

The Royal Country Set

This is archetypal England at its best: see www.the-british-shop.de . The British royals are followed with great interest here and are often the subject of affectionate “comedy” sketches as well as documentaries. Having no official royalty of their own, the Germans are happy to “borrow” someone else’s. And while the royal families of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Holland and Spain also hold interest, the strong blood bond with the Windsors seems to win out.

 

British Humour

Although British humour is usually cited by Germans as the quality that they admire in us the most, what we would call “real” British humour is rarely understood by Germans, relying as it does on word-play and a heavy dose of irony. The king of British humour in Germany is still Rowan Atkinson in his Mr Bean incarnation and I am sure it will come as no surprise that this show is watched and enjoyed by many people over the age of 6 in this country. Another little oddity that is often quoted by Germans as representing British humour is the comedy sketch “Dinner for One”. This sketch was produced in the 1960s by the German TV station NDR with an English cast (Freddie Frinton and May Warden) and now holds the record for the most-repeated TV program ever. Most Germans know the entire script off by heart so next time you hear Germans saying “same procedure as every year” or “cheerio, Miss Sophie!” you’ll know where it came from.

 

Gaslit London

The end 19thC/early 20thC London of swirling fogs, carriages and elegant detectives in evening dress is still a very popular image. Although Germany has never really picked up on modern British police or crime series, preferring the Swedish versions of Henning Mankell and his ilk, Edgar Wallace, Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie remain very popular.

 

There are other archetypes and worlds that represent Britain and the British for the Germans but you can be sure that these do not include benefit scroungers or hoodies. And of course, the benefit of this rather rose-tinted perception for us is that we Brits are automatically assumed to be aristocratic, noble and hilariously funny by the Germans unless we dramatically demonstrate otherwise.

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While the London Olympics, Downton Abbey, the Gin & Tonic revival, various cosy crime series, post-Hugh Grant rom-coms such as “The Holiday” with Cameron Diaz and those sanitised pop biogs kept Britannia’s flame going for a good few years, it’s down to a rather sad flicker now.

Brexit and RIP Queen Elizabeth II. 

Older Germans still have fond memories and associations with Britain, and the stereotypes persist: cups of tea, fish & chips, politeness. But it’s all a little faded and dusty these days, like something hanging out too long in the sun at a seafront stall. 

But I get the impression that many Germans, especially the young, regard Britain as expensive, hostile and troubled. And not particularly “cool”. I was shocked not long ago when a relative of my husband’s (a young man who’s mixed race) said he wasn’t keen on going to Britain as it’s “so racist.”

It’s a sad state of affairs, but I’m not without hope. The salvation of Britain may lie in the specific, the local, rather than the not-so-great whole. Whisky, for example, is undergoing a huge surge of interest here. While many of the little British grocery stores have closed down, whisky shops are thriving - even in the one-pig town where I used to live! 

BREXILE: Red, white and ... blue

I’ve sold the house that was in my family for 61 years. The decorators are champing at the bit to get in there and tear down wallpaper, rip 70s and 80s fitted carpets from the stairs, the sitting room, the bathroom (yuk!). 

I wanted a long, lesiurely sale. Perhaps to be there still over Christmas, into 2026. But it wasn’t to be, and maybe that’s for the best. No more heating bills, no more worry on ski holidays about burst pipes. 

10 weeks from going on the market to completion. A sprint, even if you’re living in the country. I have shut myself off - from work, from friends, even family - to get Brexile done. And done it is. 

Last time I sold a property was in 2004, pre-mobile internet and apps and codes and excessive identity proofs. I was younger - and completely blase about it all. I had zero interest in who was buying my Wimbledon flat, just wanted a high price and for the thing to be done swiftly, without complications.

This time, I was a nervous wreck. The logistics of it all gave me the heebie-jeebies. I had recurring nightmares - even the night before last - about floods, fires, lost keys, other disasters. I didn’t help myself by the desire to do as much as possible single-handed. Because it wasn’t just about selling a property. It was about uprooting and my identity.

The timing ended up feeling portentous, if that’s the right word. In the last week, there's been the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the “Unite the Kingdom” march of 150,00/3 million flag-shaggers/patriots in London (alternatives depend on your perspective - the truth, as ever, lies somewhere in between). And yesterday US President Trump arrived - he’s currently in Windsor, just a few miles away from me. 

But one thing the whole disorientating experience has taught me is this. Trust in your faith in human nature, not in random media and opinions on the internet. I feel as if I’ve been brainwashed to believe that everything is going to go pear-shaped, that people are useless, that no-one can be trusted to do their job.

That’s bollocks. Over the last few weeks, I’ve met so many different characters, from the estate agent, the solicitors, the removals man, the guys at the local tip, the tea shop lady who gratefully accepted my china, the auction and house clearance guy, my lovely neighbours, my first cousin-twice-removed and her boyfriend, the staff at the hospice charity depot, my friendly local plumber ...

... and everything got done - even the returns bag for the router arrived just in time.

In the end, we muddle through. We always do.
 

RETROWURST: Richtfest September 2007

 

Well, well, well.

By strange coincidence, on the eve of yet another long journey back to Brexit island, I see that 18 years ago, I was writing about jollier circumstances. Not selling up and moving out, but building and moving in.

Here’s the story of the Richtfest, some insight into Germans and DIY, and the state of the DIY retail brands back in September 2007.

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Last Friday, I attended another “first” for me here in Germany. After over 11 years in Germany, I had thought that I had exhausted my list of “first times” but it seems that there are ever-new obscure and fascinating traditions and opportunities for celebration here. The occasion on Friday was something called a Richtfest, which took place just over the road from our house. 

 

We live on an area of new housing in a small town east of Frankfurt. While some of the houses are finished, there are still a number of vacant lots available plus houses in various stages of completion. While much of the UK’s new housing is built by developers or the Barrett/Wimpey Homes of this world, it is still very common in Germany to search for your own plot of land and then commission an architect and building company to build to your own wishes.

 

The Richtfest is traditionally held when the main structure and roof beams are in place. A relation of the Christmas Tree, the Richtbaum – a pine, spruce or similar decorated with coloured ribbons, is fixed onto the gables and the craftsmen, workers, architect and building foreman are all invited along with the neighbours who have undoubtedly put up with all manner of dust, dirt, noise and huge machines in the last few months. To open the Richtfest, the carpenter, dressed in his traditional black corduroy outfit (which looks like a cross between a cowboy and someone from a 70s rock group) stands on the roof, a full Schnapps glass at the ready to give his carpenter’s speech or Zimmermannsspruch.The speech is a thank you to all concerned and asks for God to bestow His blessing on the house and all who live within. A little reminiscent of the launching of a ship, the Schnapps is then downed and the glass hurled from the roof. If it breaks, this is a good omen, but, should it stay intact, then all will not necessarily run smoothly for the new home-owners. This is, understandably, one of the most nerve-racking moments in a carpenter’s life – far more so that balancing 10m up on the roof wielding a heavy and dangerous saw!

 

Now, you may have heard that most Germans live in rented accommodation, mainly apartments and this is indeed true. Only 43% of Germans (45% former West Germany, 35% former DDR) own their homes, a level way below the European norm. The equivalent figure for GB is 69% and Southern Europe has even higher levels of home ownership, with Italy at 72% and Spain at 86%, for example. But the point is that, when Germans do decide to buy their home, the “gold standard” is literally to start from scratch with buying a plot, designing and building the house complete to one’s own specifications. Buying a house that someone else has built or had built is not seen as ideal as it is not likely to match your own personal needs and wishes. In addition, German houses tend to be pretty solid, so it is not usually a case of simply knocking down a few dividing walls.

 

Going back to all those rented flats: the vast majority of these are rented not only unfurnished but without what we would see as normal fixtures and fittings. The chances are that, if you move into a rented flat, the last occupants will have taken their kitchen and anything else built-in with them. And whether there are any light bulbs left will be the least of your worries: there will be no ceiling or wall lamps at all! And the tenants are responsible for the state of decoration of the property while living there and on moving out. This all leads me on to the main topic of this Extrawurst: DIY in Germany. As you can imagine, with all this building of homes from scratch, re-building someone else’s house to suit your personal needs and renovating your rented accommodation, DIY is big business in Germany!

 

Before I move on to look at some of the interesting players in the DIY market here, it’s worth looking at the psychology of DIY here, which I believe has a major influence on the market. Overall, the average German is probably more keen and more adept at DIY than his or her average British counterpart. From my work with IKEA, I have been in plenty of German homes and the occupants are always very keen to point out which tasks they completed with their own hands. I think it all stems from a pride in craftsmanship: craftsmen and skilled workers are very highly regarded in Germany. There is none of the “class divide” that still pervades the UK and a master carpenter will be regarded here as being on a professional level with, say, an accountant. Because no-one feels that “working with your hands” is “beneath them”, most Germans are quite keen to give it all a go themselves.

 

Another interesting point about the psychology is that Germans generally feel “safe” in an area where there are set rules and ways of doing things, that one can learn, rather than in the area of personal inspiration and creativity, where one can make a dreadful faux pas as there are no set rules. There is only one way to lay tiles, generally, but choosing the colour, pattern and matching it to the existing style is the area where Germans are more likely to flounder.

 

The market for DIY in Germany is huge and has a large number of players. Most of these are now large chain superstores rather than independent builders’ merchants, although these still exist, mainly for the professionals. Many of the large chains also have some presence in other European markets.

 

The number 1 in Germany is Obi www.obi.de with 334 stores in Germany alone and a major presence in Italy, Austria, Poland, Czech Republic and other European markets. Obi is one of the best-known brand names in Germany and the orange and black logo and “busy beaver” symbol are universally recognised. Obi started in 1970 and was one of the first to develop the USA DIY concept of “everything under one roof”. Obi is active in sports sponsorship and was one of the major sponsors for the World Cup 2007.

 

Bauhaus (www.bauhaus.info ) is probably the “gold standard” in Germany. The chain has 185 stores across Europe and positions itself on a “best choice, first class quality and excellent value for money” platform. Bauhaus’ advertising line “Wenn es gut sein muss” (“when it’s got to be good”) reflects this. The store experience in Bauhaus is probably the best in Germany, with excellent and well-qualified co-workers and a range of services from tool hire to video workshops on DIY topics.

 

The big personality among the German DIY chains is Hornbach (www.hornbach.de ). With their huge pink and orange monstrosities of stores and their unashamedly quirky advertising, you can’t really miss Hornbach. Although the roots of the store go back 130 years, Hornbach’s in-store experience is right up-to-date with demonstrations and seminars. The advertising campaign (“Es gibt immer was zu tun” “There’s always something to be done”) connects perfectly with the German Zeitgeist as far as DIY goes.

 

Finally, we come to Praktiker (www.praktiker.de ). Although a large chain with 245 outlets, Praktiker seem to have done everything wrong in the retail book and are suffering for it. From over-diversification (into travel and telecommunications), to an appalling in-store experience with non-existent service to a focus on price discounts that is ceasing to be credible, Praktiker seem to have messed-up.

 

Maybe the Schnapps glass didn’t break at their Richtfest.

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I don’t suppose there will be a Richtfest in Camberley when I move out, nor was there one when the houses were built in 1960. 

I wonder if there’s an alternative Richtfest for moving out - possibly celebrated by removing the house name sign - above?

Lifetime brands

 

I’m on the (fingers still crossed) last lap of the house sale and I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a period of such intense physical and emotional exhaustion. OK, I’ve brought it on myself in some ways: of course I could have thrown money at it and simply paid someone to do it. Sift through over 60 years’ worth of stuff. Find new homes for some and dispose of the rest as responsibly as possible. Maybe even make a little money in the process. But I simply didn’t have time. 

So if my posts here are lacking in depth, please forgive me. My brain is scrambled - I wake up at unearthly hours wondering what to do with that, what order to do x, y and z, fretting about the logistics of the whole thing, hoping to God that people turn up at the right time.

When I’ve gone to the local dump, aka tip, aka recycling centre, I’ve tried not to dwell on things. But my mind flashes back to when we’d go to the dump to find things, not chuck them. Some pram wheels, a baby billiard board - and, hey presto! - a go-cart. Fat chance of anyone finding anything I’ve chucked, though - they’d have to abseil down into the skips and then risk being crushed by the infernal machines, lurching over the containers like mechanical birds of prey.

It’s been a dusty parade of brand names, mostly long forgotten, that have tumbled into those skips. Occasionally, I’ll find myself humming a jingle and seriously not know whether it was real, or something I made up when I was a small child. Pax-i-mat elect-ric!

But amongst these mid-century relics, there are a few brands that - I think - are in it for life. Like Thermos - in the same way as Hoover, is this a brand name or an item? I was slightly surprised to read that Thermos was founded in Germany (it now has its HQ in the US and is under Japanese ownership) - maybe that is significant, somehow.

My first memories of Thermos flasks were on Tarshyne Beach, Aden. All the families had them, to keep orange squash cold and coffee hot. Back then, they came in garish stripes like deckchairs, or a wicker design like the furniture in the Officers’ Club. Later, back in cold and gloomy Britain, they were lugged round caravan sites, lochs and glens, mountains and castles.

On the website today, the copy says that Thermos flasks are for “adventurers, explorers and everyday folks like us”...

... so I have a new-ish Thermos. It became my Covid companion on long drives from home to home. And the habit stuck. Here’s to the next adventure!

   

BREXILE: Musn’t grumble?

 

I never thought that a cryptocurrency ad would make me chuckle - but this one from Coinbase raised a wry smile. 

As part of the Brexile process, I’m making a list of reasons I’m glad to be jumping ship - to keep me going when I get second, third and fourth thoughts. These range from seeing my favourite local curry house being torn down unceremoniously to pretentious restaurants charging £6 for a couple of pieces of non-descript bread to no beer on tap at the local. 

I’ll just play this gem next time I start to get the staying pangs - 2 minutes of squalid, crumbling, bleak, rat- and rubbish-strewn Brexit Island, all to a jolly Oliver!-style song-and-dance number.

Everything is fine. Yeah.   

RETROWURST: Edeka August 2007

 

The subject of this month’s Retrowurst is Edeka - the German Coop. Back in 2007, it was already over 100 years old and thriving. The supermarket had recently introduced a new corporate identity with “blackboard visuals” - focussing on the handmade/local element of their freshness and food strength.

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Whenever retail successes are discussed, in Germany as elsewhere, most of the talk centres on the discounters, such as Aldi or Kik, or on the new kids on the block (or stores in the mall, or sites on the Web.) But, just as the centenarian Marks & Spencer continues to be one of the UK’s retail success stories, Germany’s “old lady” of the grocery world, Edeka, has likewise enjoyed similar success here over the last few years.

 

Edeka’s story is an interesting exercise in making a very old concept relevant for today, not by throwing everything away and replacing with a hip new idea, but by looking at the original concept and seeing what, within this, is both relevant to today’s customers and offers a point of difference to the competition.

 

Edeka, which is either 100 or 109 years old this year, depending on how you look at it, is the German “Co-Op”. Edeka can trace its roots back to 1898 when Fritz Borrmann founded the “Einkaufsgenossenschaft der Kolonialwarenhändler in Halleschen Torberzirk zu Berlin”, of which “E.d.K” or Edeka” as you would speak it is the abbreviation. As an aside, I have noticed quite a few brand names in German are actually abbreviations of this type. As everyone knows, German is a language full of words that go on for sentences if not paragraphs, so it is useful to talk about a KiTa rather than a Kindertagesstätte (Kindergarten), about KiBa, which is a mixture of cherry (Kirsch) and banana juice, or to address someone as HaPe, who is normally saddled with the name Hans-Peter.

 

In 1907, Borrmann and his co-op partners formed the “Verband deutscher Kaufmännischer Genossenschaftler” or German Co-operative Society under the motto “Gemeinsam sind wir stark (Together we are strong).”

 

One hundred years later, Edeka is the number one grocery/food retailer in Germany, ahead of Aldi and Lidl. Edeka has a 26% share, ahead of next competitors Rewe at 18% and Aldi at 17%. There are over 10,000 stores in Germany and turnover is €37.2 bn. The growth and success of Edeka in recent years coincided with the appointment of Alfons Frenk as CEO of Edeka AG in 2003. Herr Frenk is an ambitious man with a tough background behind him. As one of six children growing up in a poor family in post-war Germany, Frenk knew shortages and hardship from an early age, resulting in an obsessive drive never to squander resources and to watch every pfennig. Herr Frenk is not content with Edeka’s number 1 position: he wants to reach a market share of 30% and to expand at a rate of opening 200 new Edeka stores per year. Part of his strategy is acquisition: Edeka has recently bought Spar and the discounter chain Netto.

 

While other retailers see diversification into non-food areas and expansion outside Germany as the way forward, Frenk’s strategy is exactly the opposite. Edeka has set its focus on fresh food and on Germany, withdrawing Edeka’s interests outside of the home market. This focus, combined with very keen attention to costs has meant an increase in profits of +60% since Frenk was appointed. Although it is tempting to make comparisons with a figure like Ingvar Kamprad, one must remember that Alfons Frenk is the head of a very different organisation to an IKEA or an Aldi. Edeka is a co-operative and its CEO does not have ultimate power.

 

Edeka has an extremely complicated organisational structure with regional co-operatives and societies. The store managers are mostly self-employed and the whole system has something rather mediaeval about it, akin to the feudal system with its regional barons. It was something of a revolution that Frenk managed to centralise Edeka’s computer system and his main challenge is to get the various factions working together to combine their strength and to improve overall efficiency.

 

Edeka’s heterogeneity is reflected in the different names it uses for its outlets, dependent on type, size and region. Under the “E” Edeka branding are “nah & gut”, “active markt”, “neukauf”, “center” and “C&C Großmarkt” (the Cash & Carry). In addition, a number of other retail chains such as Spar and Netto now belong to Edeka.

 

For the last two years, Edeka has been running an image campaign focusing on the main consumer benefit or point of difference for a heterogeneous, co-operative with local focus: “Freshness”, particularly in the areas of fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy produce. The staff and their specialist knowledge are key differentiating factors for Edeka and, although fresh food only represents 25% of the turnover, the margins are highest in this area. The tagline “Wir lieben Lebensmittel”, (“We love food groceries”) and the key visual of the blackboard stand for the specialist knowledge and passion of the staff and for the “handmade” and “local” feel that Edeka has:

 

 

 

 

But, while Edeka are single-minded in their brand communication, in retail one cannot ignore the competition. To compete with Aldi, Edeka have their own shop-in-shop “Gut und Günstig” where basic packaged groceries are offered at Aldi-like prices. The trick here, say Edeka, is to offer exactly the same deal where the public know the price to the nearest cent, such as milk, but to allow a few cents more on products that are not daily basics, such as mustard

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Edeka goes from strength to strength. In 2024, it was the 6th biggest supermarket in Europe, and turnover has more than doubled since the €37.2 bn quoted in the article to €75.3 bn.

The brand has a clever balance in its communication - advertising that gets noticed - sometimes cheeky, even provocative. A good example here is the brand throwing its political weight around in its anti-AfD advertising and action. I’m generally not a huge fan of brands and politics, but somehow Edeka gets away with it, in my view. 

Maybe that’s because of the solid consistency of the blackboard/Wir lieben Lebensmittel approach - definitely still going strong. And still looking fresh.