Edeka’s empty shelves show what supermarkets would look like without foreign-made foods.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nselection of food choices they largely take for granted.
\nEdeka\u2019s campaign surprised not just shoppers but also German and international media as well. After all, taking a stand on controversial political issues is not what\u2019s usually expected of one of the world\u2019s largest corporations. Headquartered in Hamburg with over four thousand stores, Edeka is the second largest supermarket chain in the world in terms of annual revenues. This is the kind of corporation that, at least in American terms, one would expect would play it safe when it comes to controversy.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s clear that the social provocateurs and the out-of-the-box marketers hiding out in Edeka\u2019s corporate offices made sure that the messaging to shoppers and the media would be clear, unambiguous, and thought provoking. Prominently displayed near the empty shelves were signs that cleverly signaled the dual messaging on diversity that the corporate giant aimed to communicate to its customers. With signs that read \u00a0\u201cOur range now knows borders,\u201d \u201cThis is how empty a shelf is without foreigners,\u201d \u201cThis shelf is pretty boring without diversity,\u201d or \u201cWe will be poorer without diversity,\u201d Edeka squarely thrust itself into the simmering debate in Germany and abroad on Chancellor Angela Merkel\u2019s open-door policy for refugees from the war-torn countries of Africa and the Middle East.<\/p>\n
Edeka\u2019s surprise display of solidarity with the reality of diversity and the changing face of German society in light of Germany\u2019s acceptance of more than one million refugees and asylum seekers from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Eritrea, and Albania was met with decidedly mixed reviews.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the controversial campaign, a spokeswoman explained the corporation\u2019s motivations. \u201cEdeka stands for variety and diversity. In our stores, we sell numerous foods which are produced in the various regions of Germany.\u00a0 But only together with products from other countries, is it possible to create the unique variety that our consumers value.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hailed by many for its social and political boldness but dismissed by others as a cynical marketing ploy, Edeka joins other international retailers like America\u2019s Kenneth Cole shoe company and Britain\u2019s United Colors of Benetton in exploiting their commercial bully pulpit to try\u2014often with clever humor\u2014to tip the scales toward a more tolerant and just social compact.<\/p>\n
I, for one, applaud Edeka for this gutsy move, for getting out in front of a difficult issue, and for planting a marker that tells its customers just where this corporate giant stands. We need more cleverly conceived campaigns like this one\u2014especially in America and especially now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Last week the German supermarket chain Edeka cooked up an unannounced demonstration of the diversity in the German food-supply chain by removing all products<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":37795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1997,384],"tags":[1333,3104,1598],"yoast_head":"\n
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