Independent operators trading under the Edeka banner provide the best quality of service in the German food retail sector, according to a new study by the Hamburg-based German Institute for Service Quality.
The study, carried out on behalf of German television news channel n-tv, looked at outlets belonging to, or under franchise from, 15 different retail companies, including traditional supermarkets, convenience stores, full-range and large-scale hypermarkets and discounters.
A total of 150 anonymous market visits in a number of German cities were made as part of the investigation, with ten different branches belonging to each company assessed on their product offering, competence and friendliness of staff and the overall quality of the store environment.
As well as being marked out as the star performer in terms of service, Edeka was also identified by the study as the market leader among full-range food retailers.
