Wholesale cooperations for small supermarkets in rural areas - the example of Central Hesse, Germany

Food retailing in the rural regions of Germany is undergoing dynamic changes. The growth of average sales area and the consolidation of shops result in an increase of those areas where supermarkets can only be reached through long car drives. Here, food deserts might be developing. However, a new system of collaboration between regional wholesale companies and the big German retail cooperatives Edeka and Rewe prevents the development of such areas of undersupply and opens new perspectives for the small supermarkets in the case study region of Central Hesse.