REWE Group, one of the largest European retailers, is ready to cooperate with Ukrainian producers

Austrian buyers have personally participated in the "Go global with REWE" event, demonstrating their willingness to support Ukrainian exporters. 17 experienced companies - producers of food products and household goods that have proven themselves as reliable partners in the Ukrainian market, presented their products to the Austrian category buyers, represented from REWE Group were Senior Category Directors from Headquarters in the subject of fresh, dry, confectionary, dairy and household goods.

Among the suppliers were coffee factory Galka, Bayadera Group, U-Berry, AVK and BKK, Khlibprom, Chumak, Healthy Tradition, Ovostar (TM Yasensvit), Milk Alliance (TM Yagotinske), Lactalis (TM "President") , Ergopack (TM "Little things of life"), VGP (TM "Ruta"), Ecosoft,  ABC_Center (TM "Jarkoff"), and also Fitor (TM "Pragnis"). The aim of the meeting was to support Ukrainian suppliers on the path to a reliable partnership with European buyers and to open up the opportunities for membership in the global network of suppliers of REWE Group - one of the largest European retailers with revenues exceeding 56 billion euro as of 2016.

Special guests of the event were Mr. Oleksandr Scherba, Ambassador of Ukraine to Austria, and Mrs. Hermine Poppeller, Ambassador of Austria to Ukraine. "Two years ago, when we just started this project, it became obvious that Ukraine has things to show, and Austria must definitely see it. Then, along with the Ukrainian producers, we went to Vienna, which caused great discussions between buyers and producers. It was an extremely important step for us. Today is an outstanding event when Austrian buyers came to Ukraine personally", - says Mr. Alexander Scherba.

Participants of the event had a unique opportunity to meet REWE Group main buyers and top-level executives of the "BILLA Ukraine" retailer, which is a part of the REWE Group, represented by CEO O.Mandzyuk and CFO V.Melenny and learn about the terms of export to Austria and the EU. Within the framework of the event, a mini-fair was organized, in which Ukrainian producers presented their products for evaluation by Austrian buyers.

Christian Pichler, REWE Head of the Division of Dry Management of the Dry Range of REWE Group, introduced the Ukrainian suppliers to the global supply chain in the group, after which all interested exporters had a unique chance to personally meet and present their products directly to the category managers of the REWE Group at the pre-planned meetings.

According to the results of the B2B meetings, Austrian buyers have shared their feedback and advised Ukrainian exporters to be even more concise, focus on the key products out of their rich product line during the presentation and on the additional value for the buyer’s company, reveal strengths and explain the main benefits of partnership with them. "

Today was an extraordinary day. Many new acquaintances, products and enjoyable open communication in a friendly atmosphere", - said one of the representatives of the REWE Group. Several products presented found string interest from the buyers’ side and follow-up discussions are planned for procurement.

Within the framework of the event, Anna Makiyevska, Head of Purchasing Department at Good Wine, and Natalia Rudenko, Senior Tax and Legal Manager at Deloitte Ukraine, shared their secrets and practical tips for successful partnership with international retailers.

In particular, Anna spoke about the selection criteria for products and partners, gave advice on preparing for a meeting with the buyer and emphasized the importance of pre-examining the values ​​of the buyer and taking them into account during the meeting.

Natalia Rudenko, in turn, shared her experience about systemic mistakes that Ukrainian exporters make, entering developed markets. "And the first one is that Ukrainian sellers and those, who serves the contract have the lack of fluent foreign language, at least English. These factors extremely reduce your rating against other competitors", - says Natalia Rudenko.

"In my opinion, the fact that top managers of the procurement department of one of the largest European retailers personally came to Ukraine to meet our manufacturers is a sign of confidence and great respect. Deloitte Ukraine, together with partners, intends to continue to organize similar meetings to improve the image of Ukrainian producers and bring their products to global markets." - Gregory Fishman, Business Development Director, Deloitte Ukraine.