2009

The 15th regular members’ meeting of the development society GFI German Wholesale Markets was held in Duisburg on 10 and 11 November 2009. The assembled members unanimously voted to renew the mandates of Board members Peter Joppa and Andreas Foidl, who were standing for re-election.

This year the close, tried and tested cooperation with Zespri and EOS South Tyrol, together with an intensified marketing partnership with Melasí, resulted in more than 60 specials at independent retailers. The three partners successfully used the “GFI Freshness Network” of independent traders, consisting of attractive street markets, greengrocers’ shops and retail market halls. For 2010 it is planned to further expand promotions with all three partners. They will be joined by Sopexa and the two new marketing partners, Chiquita and Enza.

2008

The 14th general meeting is held on 11 and 12 November 2008 in Stuttgart. Uwe Kluge, managing director of Bremen Wholesale Market, stands for re-election to the Board at the end of his four-year term, three of them as chairman, and is unanimously voted into another term of office.

This year new marketing partnerships are added to the well-established, close cooperation with Zespri: collaboration with Sopexa and EOS (Bolzano Chamber of Commerce’s Export Organization for South Tyrol) results in a boom in promotions, with more than 100 specials at independent retail outlets. Sopexa and EOS are thus making good use of the “GFI Freshness Network” consisting of independent retailers at popular street markets, in greengrocery shops and covered markets. Plans for 2009 include further promotional activities with all three partners.

Founding

The development society "Association for the Promotion of the Interests of German Wholesale Markets" (Gemeinschaft zur Förderung der Interessen der deutschen Großmärkte) was founded on 6th December 2000 in Mannheim; founder members were the nine wholesale markets Berlin, Bremen, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hannover, Munich and Stuttgart. The association is headquartered in Hamburg . It was entered in the register of associations on 3rd April 2001.

The association was founded as the result of a project called "Trademark for Germany 's wholesale markets", which was set up in September 1999. The suggestion came from the wholesale market Hamburg and in September 1999 the trademark working party "Arbeitsgruppe Markenzeichen Großmarkt" (AGM) was formed. The party consisted of the managing directors of the wholesale markets Hamburg , Hannover, Munich and Berlin . The wholesale market Hamburg engaged a business consultant to work with the group.

The starting point for the AGM was the increasing amount of attention individual wholesale market managers were devoting to the current and future marketing challenges facing the industry. In view of the changing structures in the fruit and vegetable business many wholesale market managers are redefining their strategic and operative tasks, in order to remain competitive in the future. Interest focuses on a proactive approach, aiming to make the transition from "manager of floor space to provider of marketing services": for long term security, markets need an attractive, efficient centre management with the added support of effective location marketing activities. Efforts centre around the idea of co-operation with all the distribution partners to deploy marketing measures which cover the entire sales channel and maintain an attractive image for wholesale markets' services. The desire for co-operation is not restricted to the local region. At national level a co-ordinating, integrating force was required to drive the very promising national marketing idea and provide supporting marketing concepts nation-wide which, so it is hoped, will reflect positively on the separate locations and boost their image.

At the annual general meeting of wholesale market managers held in Munich in May 2000, the AGM presented its project "Trademark for Germany 's wholesale markets" in an economically viable, co-ordinated and sustainable concept. The meeting welcomed the project and asked the working party to set about implementing the concept. The constituent assembly for the development society was held in September 2000 in Mannheim and the founding meeting was held in the same place in December 2000.