Kaufland facts for kids
 |
|
| Private | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Headquarters | Neckarsulm, Germany |
|
Number of locations
|
1,530 (October 2023) |
|
Area served
|
Germany, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia |
| Products | Hypermarkets |
| Revenue | €31.8 billion (2022) |
|
Number of employees
|
155,000 (2023) |
| Parent | Schwarz Gruppe |
Kaufland is a big chain of hypermarkets from Germany. It's part of the Schwarz Gruppe, which also owns the popular store Lidl. The name "Kaufland" means "buy-land" in English.
The first Kaufland store opened in 1984 in Neckarsulm, Germany. Since then, it has grown a lot. Today, Kaufland has over 1,500 stores. You can find them in Germany, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, and Moldova.
Contents
History of Kaufland
The story of Kaufland started in 1930. Joseph Schwarz joined a company called Südfrüchte Großhandlung Lidl & Co. It was then renamed Lidl & Schwarz KG. This company first sold fruits. Later, it grew into a wholesaler for food and other goods.
During World War II, the company was destroyed. It had to be rebuilt. By 1954, the company was back on its feet. It moved into its own building in Heilbronn. It also joined a retail group called A & O.
In 1964, the company added a meat department. This made their product range even bigger.
New Store Ideas
In 1968, Lidl & Schwarz opened their first Handelshof discount store. It was in Backnang. In 1977, they opened a larger Handelshof hypermarket there. This new store was like the big self-service markets in the USA. It was 1,000 square meters and had 70 employees.
Joseph Schwarz passed away in 1977. His son, Dieter Schwarz, took over the company. He started the Lidl chain of discount stores. These stores grew quickly to 30 locations.
Dieter Schwarz also created Kaufland as a different type of store. The very first Kaufland hypermarket opened in 1984. It was in Neckarsulm, which is still where the company's main office is.
Growing Across Europe
After Germany became one country again, Kaufland expanded a lot. They opened many stores in Eastern Germany. The first East German Kaufland store opened in Meissen in 1990.
Kaufland then started opening stores outside Germany. In 1998, the first international store opened in Kladno, Czech Republic. After that, they opened stores in:
- Slovakia (since 2000)
- Croatia (2001)
- Poland (2001)
- Romania (2005)
- Bulgaria (2006)
- Moldova (2018)
In 2006 and 2007, Kaufland continued to open more stores in Germany. They also bought parts of other companies. By February 2009, Kaufland had 73,000 employees in Germany.
In 2010, Kaufland bought 12 famila stores and a Cash-&-Carry-Markt Lupus Food Service store. They also bought five Schleckerland drug stores. Most of these were changed into Kaufland stores.
From 2011, all Handelshof stores slowly became Kaufland stores. Some were rebuilt and made bigger.
Plans for Australia
In 2016, Kaufland planned to open stores in Australia. They bought land and hired over 200 people. They invested about 310 million euros. However, in January 2020, Kaufland decided not to open stores in Australia. They never opened a single store there.
Recent Developments
On September 26, 2019, the first two Moldovan stores opened in Chișinău. More stores have been built in Moldova since then.
In 2021, Kaufland announced a plan to reduce carbon dioxide. They want to produce 80 percent less CO2 by 2030. They plan to save 12,000 tons of CO2 each year. They will do this by using sustainable fuel for all their products shipped by sea.
Kaufland Stores Around Europe
Kaufland has many stores in different countries. Here is a list of how many stores they have in each country:
| Country | Number of stores |
|---|---|
 Germany |
768 |
 Poland |
243 |
 Romania |
178 |
 Czech Republic |
143 |
 Slovakia |
79 |
 Bulgaria |
65 |
 Croatia |
48 |
 Moldova |
9 |
Products You Can Find
Kaufland stores usually have about 30,000 different items. They offer a wide range of food and other things you need every day. Besides products from other brands, Kaufland also has its own brands. One of these is Kaufland Mobile.
Since 1994, Kaufland has had its own bakeries. This means they bake fresh bread and pastries for their customers.
In November 2018, Kaufland started selling Demeter products. These are organic and biodynamic options for people who want them.
Kaufland also has its own places to process meat. These are in Möckmühl, Osterfeld, Heilbronn, and Heiligenstadt in Germany. They also have one in Říčany, Czechia. This helps Kaufland make sure their meat products are high quality.
Staff
Kaufland employs many people across its stores and offices. In 2023, the company had about 155,000 employees.
Images for kids
-
Map showing countries where Kaufland operates.
See also
In Spanish: Kaufland para niños
