View source for Kaufland

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{{EngvarB|date=July 2020}}
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{{Infobox company
| name = Kaufland
| logo = Kaufland Deutschland.png
| type = [[Privately held company|Private]]
| slogan = 
| foundation = 1930
| location = [[Neckarsulm]], Germany
| area_served = [[Germany]], [[Poland]], [[Czech Republic]], [[Romania]], [[Slovakia]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Croatia]], [[Moldova]]
| key_people = Patrick Kaudewitz CEO
| industry = [[Retail]]
| products = [[Discount store|Discount hypermarket]]s
| revenue = 
| num_employees = 
| parent = [[Schwarz Gruppe]]
| homepage = {{URL|www.kaufland.com}}
}}

'''Kaufland''' {{IPA-de|ˈkaʊ̯flant|}} is a German [[hypermarket]] chain, part of the [[Schwarz Gruppe]] which also owns [[Lidl]]. The hypermarket directly translates to English as 'buy-land'. It opened its first store in 1984 in [[Neckarsulm]] and quickly expanded to become a leader in what was formerly [[East Germany]]. The chain operates over 1,200 stores in Germany, the [[Czech Republic]], [[Slovakia]], [[Poland]], [[Romania]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Croatia]] and [[Moldova]].<ref name=Moldova>{{cite news |url=https://www.presseportal.de/pm/111476/4385826 |title=Kaufland neu in der Republik Moldau in der Hauptstadt Chisinau gehen die ersten beiden Filialen ans Netz |language=German |date=26 September 2019 |work=Presseportal.de}}</ref> On 22 January 2020, Kaufland announced that it had dropped its plans to open stores in Australia.

==History==
[[File:Kaufland.png|upright=0.68|thumb|left|Kaufland logo until November 2016]]
The history of Kaufland began when Joseph Schwarz entered the ''Südfrüchte Großhandlung Lidl & Co.'' at Heilbronn as a shareholder in 1930, which was then renamed ''Lidl & Schwarz KG''.<ref name="jss">{{Cite news |url=https://josef-schwarz-schule.phorms.de/de/standorte/ueber-josef-schwarz/ |title=Über Josef Schwarz |date=n.d. |work=Josef Schwarz Schule |access-date=13 January 2020}}</ref> In subsequent years it was the company aimed to expand its range and become a food wholesaler.

After the [[Second World War]], the company was rebuilt: in 1954 it entered the ''A & O''-chain. With ''Handels- und Fruchthof Heilbronn GmbH'' the first regional warehouse was opened in northern [[Wurttemberg]]. In 1964, the company expanded its range of products by opening a meat department. In 1968 the first ''Handelshof'' [[discount store]] was opened in [[Backnang]], and in 1977 at the same place a hypermarket of the same name was established. After the death of Joseph Schwarz in 1977 his son [[Dieter Schwarz]] took over the management of the company. 

In 1984 the first ''Kaufland'' hypermarket was opened in [[Neckarsulm]], the place of the company's headquarters since 1972.

After the [[reunification of Germany]] the Kaufland chain expanded into the Eastern German states and opened numerous markets. The first East German ''Kaufland'' store was opened in [[Meissen]] in 1990, the first ''Kaufmarkt SB Warenhaus'' opened in 1994 in [[Zwickau]]. In 1998, the first department store outside of Germany was established in [[Ostrava]], Czech Republic. In the 2000s, the company established branches in Slovakia (since 2000), Croatia (2001), Poland (2001), Romania (2005), Bulgaria (2006) and Moldova (2018).

In 2006 and 2007, other store openings followed in Germany and Kaufland also took over shares of competitors. In February 2009 the corporation claimed to have 73,000 employees in Germany.<ref name="PM200902">{{cite web |url=http://www.kaufland.de/Home/05_Unternehmen/007_Presse/007_Februar_2009/03_Logistik/index.jsp |title=Kaufland investiert in Logistiknetz |date=February 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091219173111/http://www.kaufland.de/Home/05_Unternehmen/007_Presse/007_Februar_2009/03_Logistik/index.jsp |archivedate=19 December 2009}}</ref>

In December 2009, Kaufland announced the building of a new meat processing plant in [[Heilbad Heiligenstadt|Heiligenstadt]], Thuringia for a total of €85&nbsp;million until 2013. About 400 local employees were to deliver 45,000 tons of meat per year to around 600 stores of the corporation.{{Citation needed|date=June 2011}}

In January 2010, it was announced that ''Karl Lupus GmbH & Co. KG'' was cleared by antitrust authorities to sell their 12 stores of the ''famila Handels-Betriebe GmbH & Co. KG Rhein-Neckar'' and the ''Cash-&-Carry-Markt Lupus Food Service'' with 1,400 employees to Kaufland.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.pz-news.de/news/wirtschaft_artikel,-Aus-Famila-wird-Kaufland-Alle-Mitarbeiter-uebernommen-_arid,170825.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130211200325/http://www.pz-news.de/news/wirtschaft_artikel,-Aus-Famila-wird-Kaufland-Alle-Mitarbeiter-uebernommen-_arid,170825.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 February 2013 |title=Aus Famila wird Kaufland: Alle Mitarbeiter übernommen |language=German |date=19 January 2010 |work=[[Pforzheimer Zeitung]]}}</ref>

In January 2010, the Kaufland group had purchased all five [[Anton Schlecker|Schleckerland]] drug stores in [[Ehingen]], [[Geislingen an der Steige|Geislingen]], Tempe, [[Neu-Ulm]], [[Schwäbisch Gmünd]] and all but the Neu-Ulm store had been converted to the Kaufland brand by then. The local Schleckerland was closed down because Kaufland was already present in Neu-Ulm.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.schwaebische.de/region/biberach-ulm/ulm_artikel,-Schleckerland-macht-zu-_arid,4016833.html |title=Schleckerland macht zu |work=Schwäbische Zeitung |date=25 November 2009}}</ref>

From 2011 onward, all Handelshof stores were to be gradually be converted to the ''Kaufland'' brand and to be partly rebuilt and enlarged.

In November 2016, Kaufland's parent company applied for Kaufland trademarks in Australia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why German supermarket pulled the pin on Australia |url=https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/why-german-supermarket-pulled-the-pin-on-australia-after-investing-millions/news-story/503516e793d33befd3284c56d1e81f1a |last=Carey |first=Alexis |date=24 January 2020 |website=NewsComAu |language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=23 May 2020}}</ref> In September 2019, Kaufland announced plans to open 20 stores in Australia.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/kaufland-announces-plans-to-open-at-least-20-stores-in-australia/news-story/0b56d1f49b1ac453d2a955d441e2150d |title=Kaufland announces plans to open at least 20 stores in Australia |work=NewsComAu |date=2 September 2019 |language=en}}</ref> In January 2020, Kaufland announced it would leave Australia, two years after buying its first store and six months after starting work on its distribution centre. It had invested about 310 million euro and hired over 200 staff members but never opened a store.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/german-retail-giant-kaufland-abandons-australia-despite-millions-in-investment-20200122-p53tqe.html |title='Gobsmacked': German retail giant Kaufland abandons Australia, adding to retail woes |last=Powell, Johnson |first= |date=22 January 2020 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=22 January 2020}}</ref> The first stores were originally expected to open in 2019 but the launch date had been pushed back to 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |title='No warning' as Kaufland pulls plug on Australia |url=https://www.afr.com/companies/retail/kaufland-pulls-plug-on-australia-without-firing-a-shot-20200122-p53tqa |last=Mitchell |first=Sue |date=22 January 2020 |website=Australian Financial Review |language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=13 May 2020}}</ref>

On 26 September 2019, the first two Moldovan stores were opened in the capital city of [[Chișinău]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.stimme.de/heilbronn/wirtschaft/2018/Kaufland-eroeffnet-in-der-Republik-Moldau-erste-Filialen;art140955,4255749 |title=Kaufland eröffnet in der Republik Moldau erste Filialen |language=German |date=26 September 2019 |work=Stimme.de}}</ref> Construction of the fourth Moldovan store have started on 23 July 2020, in the southern city of [[Comrat]].<ref name=3rd>[https://mec.gov.md/ro/content/sergiu-railean-ma-bucura-faptul-ca-tot-mai-multi-investitori-straini-decid-sa-si-lanseze Sergiu Railean: „Mă bucură faptul că tot mai mulți investitori străini decid să-și lanseze afaceri în țara noastră"]</ref> The beginning of construction at the fifth Moldovan store in the city of [[Ungheni]] was announced on 6 October 2020.<ref name=5th>[https://despre.kaufland.md/ro/presa/comunicate-de-presa/presse-detail.y=2020.m=10.n=lucrari-magazin-ungheni.html Lucrările de construcție a magazinului Kaufland din Municipiul Ungheni sunt în plină desfășurare] Kaufland.md</ref>

==Operations==
[[File:Kaufland Europe.png|alt=|thumb|upright=1.27|European countries in which Kaufland is active]]
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Country
! data-sort-type="number" | Number of stores
|-
| Germany
| 667
|-
| Poland
| 214
|-
| Czech Republic
| 133
|-
| Romania
| 126
|-
| Slovakia
| 67
|-
| Bulgaria
| 59
|-
| Croatia
| 40
|-
| Moldova
| 3 <small>(+2 under construction)<ref name=5th/></small>
|}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Kaufland - panoramio (3).jpg|Kaufland store in [[Bad Segeberg]], Germany.
File:Kaufland, Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland.jpg|Kaufland in [[Tomaszow Mazowiecki]], Poland.
File:Litvínov - Kaufland.JPG|Kaufland in [[Litvínov]], Czech Republic.
File:Kaufland NG Naša Košice.jpg|Kaufland in [[Košice]], Slovakia.
File:Sofia - Kaufland.jpg|Kaufland in [[Sofia]], Bulgaria.
File:Kaufland supermarket.jpg|Kaufland in [[Zagreb]], Croatia.
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{official website||Kaufland Germany}} {{In lang|de}}
* [http://www.kaufland.bg Kaufland Bulgaria] {{In lang|bg}}
* [http://www.kaufland.hr Kaufland Croatia] {{In lang|hr}}
* [http://www.kaufland.cz Kaufland Czech Republic] {{In lang|cs}}
* [http://www.kaufland.pl Kaufland Poland] {{In lang|pl}}
* [http://www.kaufland.ro Kaufland Romania] {{In lang|ro}}
* [http://www.kaufland-online.sk Kaufland Slovakia] {{In lang|sk}}
* [https://www.kaufland.md/ Kaufland Moldova] {{In lang|ro}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091014115755/http://www.ebrd.com/new/pressrel/2009/090724c.htm EBRD supports Kaufland's expansion in eastern Europe]

{{portalbar|Supermarkets|Companies}}
{{Supermarkets in Bulgaria}}
{{Supermarkets in Germany |state=autocollapse}}
{{Supermarkets in Poland}}
{{Supermarkets in Australia}}

[[Category:Companies based in Baden-Württemberg]]
[[Category:Retail companies established in 1984]]
[[Category:Companies based in Neckarsulm]]
[[Category:Supermarkets of Bulgaria]]
[[Category:Supermarkets of Croatia]]
[[Category:Supermarkets of the Czech Republic]]
[[Category:Supermarkets of Germany]]
[[Category:Supermarkets of Poland]]
[[Category:Supermarkets of Romania]]
[[Category:Supermarkets of Australia]]
[[Category:German brands]]