The logistics location in Graz-Seiersberg will be closed at the end of February 2025, 91 employees will lose their jobs and a social plan will be introduced for them – the UniGroup from Traun (Upper Austria) announced on Thursday. There was talk of extensive restructuring and cost-saving plans that are necessary. Savings have also already been achieved in the office network.
In February, the UniBox self-service concept was history again, in September the Unimarkt in Pucking went bankrupt and now the end of the supermarket in St. Florian near Linz has also been sealed, which the company attributes to economic considerations. and future investment needs.
This year, 24 Unimarkt locations were closed
The Upper Austrians say it has become difficult for small players like the UniGroup to cope with cut-throat competition. Fewer regional and high-quality products are purchased, at the same time more use is made of promotions and there is also fierce competition with other supermarket chains and the enormous store density – all this puts enormous pressure on Unimarkt.
“This does not make it any easier to successfully operate locations economically,” says the company, which has shrunk its branch network enormously over the course of this year. While there were still 129 locations online under the Unimarkt brand at the end of 2023, on January 1, 2025 there will be only 105 – a loss of 24 stores.
The rumor mill was spinning
No wonder many people here are already singing the grocer’s farewell song. There has been a lot of buzz in the rumor mill in recent days. There was talk that the Unimarkt brand would disappear completely. “There is nothing wrong,” denies the company, which is part of the UniGroup in Traun, which also includes UniWholesale (including Nah&Frisch, Land leben auf), UniLogistik and unik.
“Painful measures”
Only on Thursday did the UniGroup, owned by Andreas Haider, announce that it would close the logistics location in Graz. 91 employees lose their jobs. “We have to take painful measures to safeguard our competitive position, but we are convinced that this will ensure that the UniGroup remains strong in Austria,” emphasizes Managing Director Johannes Aumann.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
