REWE Far East

REWE Far East Ltd. is the buying organisation for REWE Group in Asia. With offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bangkok and Istanbul, REWE Far East strengthens REWE Group's strategic purchasing activities in the Asian region, bundling the procurement of all food and non-food products in Asia. REWE Far East purchases predominantly for the German retail brands of REWE Group: REWE, PENNY discount stores and toom Baumarkt DIY stores. But also services REWE Group's daughter companies, e.g. PENNY International and BILLA Austria. REWE Group, with its headquarters in Cologne, Germany, is one of the largest food retailers in Europe with a strong non-food business base. Serving customers through various channels such as supermarkets, discount stores and DIY stores in 12 European countries, REWE Group generates an annual turnover of over 50 billion euros (2014). By re-opening the office of REWE Far East in Hong Kong in April 2012, REWE Group's Strategic Purchasing laid the cornerstone for growth in procurement volume, the assurance of uniform quality standards and the evolvement of joint strategic partnerships with the suppliers from the East Asia and Pacific region - from China, India to New Zealand. The branch offices in Bangkok, Shanghai and Istanbul contribute to the growth and represents REWE Far East in other Asian countries. With the establishment of four offices REWE Far East has direct access to the sourcing markets and the suppliers and is able to strengthen its business relationships with Asian suppliers. Being close to the partners enables REWE Far East to provide necessary support and improve the communication. To ensure REWE Group's quality standards REWE Far East established a quality department for all four offices. The main work assignment of the technical experts is the assessment of technical reports and evaluation of samples according to REWE Group quality standards. The REWE Group quality standards set higher requirements than the legal requirements in order to keep up with customer needs and demands in the German and European market. Besides of evaluation of test reports from assigned test institutes and the check of samples, the quality team provides on-site support in the factories before or during production and explains the REWE Group quality requirements, gives technical support and ensures that supplier understands its customer needs.