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German supermarket giant Kaufland has bizarrely pulled the plug on its Australian expansion at the last minute, with little explanation
Supermarket giant Kaufland has reneged on its ambitious plans for Australia, announcing on Wednesday it would no longer be opening any stores.
It's a significant about face for the company, which had planned around 30 initial stores and a distribution centre worth more than $450 million.
It offered little explanation as to why except to say it would concentrate on its core European market instead.
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It was meant to be 'Aldi on steroids' but has fled Australia without a trace.
On Wednesday, German supermarket giant Kaufland suddenly ditched its ambitious Australian plans to open up an initial chain of 30 stores down under, with little word as to why.
"This was not an easy decision for us. We always felt welcome in Australia. We would like to thank our employees and we apologise for the disruption this decision will cause," Kaufland International acting CEO Frank Schumann said in a statement.
While never acknowledging the motivation for bailing on Australia, the supermarket chain said "after careful and thorough consideration" it had decided to concentrate on "its European core markets in the foreseeable future".
"In Europe, we see a great deal of growth potential. We will actively shape the consolidation of the European retail sector, thus further reinforcing our leading position," Schumann said.
More than a supermarket, Kaufland stores have been described as somewhere between a grocery store and a Kmart, stocking an astounding 30,000 items. For comparison, Aldi stocks about 1,300.
It had already begun construction of a $459 million distribution centre in the north Melbourne suburb of Mickleham as well as a store in South Australia worth some $24 million.
Now it's departed having spent, and presumably lost, tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars in construction and investment costs.
Were you a Kaufland Australia employee? Get in touch jack.derwin@pedestriangroup.com.au
