Mein Real facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Mein real

Real hypermarket in Nordwalde, Germany
Type	Private
Industry	Retail
Predecessors	divi Basar Continent Esbella real-kauf Walmart (Germany) Géant (Poland)
Successors	Kaufland Auchan (international operations) Remarkt (Romania)
Founded	1992
Headquarters	Düsseldorf, Germany
Area served	Germany
Revenue	€7.4 billion (2017-18)
Number of employees	36,000 (2019)
Parent	FamilyOffice Tischendorf

Mein Real is a chain of very large supermarkets, called hypermarkets, in Germany. It was known as real until 2022 and real,- until 2017. For a long time, until 2020, it was owned by a company called Metro AG.

Mein Real started in 1992. It was created by combining several other supermarket chains like divi, Basar, and real-kauf. For many years, until 2014, Real also had stores in other countries. These included Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey. Most of these international stores were later bought by a French company called Auchan Group.

In 2018, Metro AG decided to sell the Real chain. By 2021, the Real brand started to disappear from hypermarkets. Many stores were taken over by other big supermarket chains. These included Edeka, Kaufland, Globus, and Rewe. They changed the stores to their own brand names. The selling process was finished by the middle of 2022.

However, the original plan to close all Real stores changed in early 2022. It was decided that the remaining 60 stores would continue to operate. They would still use the "real" brand name, but under new owners. The old website, real.de, was replaced by kaufland.de in 2021. You can now find the new website at meinreal.de.

A Look at History

Early Growth and International Sales

In 2006, the Metro company bought 85 Walmart stores in Germany. They also bought 26 Géant hypermarkets in Poland. These stores were purchased from a French retail group called Groupe Casino.

Later, in November 2018, Metro sold 91 Real hypermarkets. These stores were located in Poland, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine. They were sold to Auchan for about €1.1 billion. In 2014, Metro had already sold its 12 Real hypermarkets in Turkey.

Selling the Real Chain

In September 2018, Metro AG announced that it would separate from Real. They planned to sell all of their hypermarkets. In February 2020, Real was sold to a company called SCP.

By April 2021, the new owner, SCP, decided to close Real and sell all its stores. The Real brand began to stop being used for hypermarkets. About 270 stores were sold to other supermarket chains. These stores were then rebranded with the new owner's name. More than 40 other stores were closed down. The previous owner wanted to finish closing Real by the end of June 2022. Stores that could not be sold were planned to be shut down.

A New Beginning for Real

In January 2022, something new was announced. The remaining 60 Real stores that were not sold would not close. Instead, they would continue to operate as "real" in the future. The previous owner stepped away from the plan to completely break up Real on June 30, 2022. They sold the remaining stores to a company that helps businesses get back on track. This company is led by a lawyer named Sven Tischendorf. The goal is to keep the "real" brand going for a long time.

The main office of Real in Düsseldorf was closed. A new company, real Service und Verwaltungs GmbH, took over some tasks in Frankfurt am Main. Other companies now handle buying products and logistics (getting products to stores). On April 13, 2022, a government office approved a partnership. This partnership allows Rewe and Real to work together on buying products.

With the change in ownership, the Real brand also changed. The old "real" brand was replaced on July 1, 2022. The stores were rebranded as mein real (which means "my real"). Their old slogan, "Einmal hin. Alles drin." (Go once. Everything's inside.), was changed. The new slogan became "alles was ich mag!" (everything I like!).

Logos Through the Years

• 

  Logo of real until 2017

• 

  Logo of real until 30 June 2022

• 

  Logo of mein real since 1 July 2022

What You Can Find at Real

Real stores offer a wide variety of products. Besides food, you can find many household items. They also sell electrical appliances, books, and media like movies or music. You can buy clothes and shoes, including sports shoes. Sports goods and stationery (like pens and paper) are also available.

Real also had its own special brands, called store brands. These included:

• TiP (short for Toll im Preis, meaning "Great Price") for discount items.
• real Quality for mid-priced items.
• realSelection for premium, higher-quality products.
• real Bio for organic products.
• Watson for electronics.

What Real Owns and Used to Own

Current Offerings

• real Quality
• realSelection
• real Bio
• Watson
• meinreal.de (their current website)

Past Offerings and Ventures

• real.digital - This was their online shopping platform, now called Kaufland E-Commerce.
• real2business - This was another business service, now called marketplaceworld.
• TiP - This discount brand was replaced by "Jeden Tag".
• real.de - Their old website, which now sends you to kaufland.de.
• Payback real club cards - A customer loyalty program.
• real Future Store - A special store concept that was discontinued in 2013.
• Real stores in Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and Turkey - These international stores were sold off. The ones in Poland and Russia became Auchan stores. The ones in Romania became Auchan and then Remarkt.

See also

In Spanish: Real (hipermercado) para niños

• Metro AG