Plus (German supermarket)
Plus was a German multinational discount supermarket chain founded in 1972. It operated 2,840 stores in Germany with an approximate 27,000 employees and about 1,200 stores in several other European countries. The retail model was to sell low-cost groceries with no expense incurred for display or marketing of products. Groceries were stored in the shipping cartons they came in, rather than being stacked on shelves. In German advertising, the name "Plus" was used as a backronym for "Prima leben und sparen" (approximately "top-notch living and saving"), featuring animated "little prices" (also sold as plush puppets) as their mascot.
 | |
| Type | GmbH |
|---|---|
| Industry | Food retailing |
| Founded | 1972 |
| Defunct | 2010 |
| Headquarters | Mülheim an der Ruhr , |
Key people | Michael Hürter |
| Revenue | € 10 bn (2006)[1] |
Number of employees | 27,700 (2005) |
| Website | plus-online |
Sale
The Edeka Group and the Tengelmann Group entered a joint venture to acquire the Plus supermarket chain on November 16, 2007, which resulted in 70% of Plus supermarkets being owned by the Edeka Group and 30% owned by the Tengelmann Group.
As of January 2009, the stores in the Plus supermarket chain owned by the Edeka group were remodelled into Netto Marken-Discount supermarket chain branches, while the Tengelmann Group's supermarkets were bought by others.
| Country | First supermarket | Withdrawn | Number of supermarkets | Sold to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyprus | 1973 | 2008 | 44 | Alfamega |
| Germany | 1972 | 2007 | 2840 | Netto Marken-Discount (Edeka) and 328 Penny Market (REWE) |
| Austria | 2003 | 2010 | 355 | |
| Spain | 1994 | 2007 | 238 | Dia |
| Portugal | 2003 | 2007 | 75 | Pingo Doce (Jerónimo Martins) |
| Poland | 1995 | 2007 | 183 | Biedronka (Jerónimo Martins) |
| Czech Republic | 1992 | 2008 | 134 | Penny Market (REWE) |
| Hungary | 1992 | 2008 | 174 | Spar |
| Romania | 2005 | 2010 | 120 | Lidl |
| Bulgaria | 2009 | 2010 | 25 | Lidl |
| Greece | 2006 | 2008 | 33 | AB Vassilopoulos (Delhaize) |
| United States | 1980 | 1982 | 21 | A&P |
- "Keine Tabus". WirtschaftsWoche (10). March 5, 2007. p. 58.