ANNUAL REPORT 2004 - REWE Group

4
We Have Now Completed
the Necessary Revitalisation.
The past fiscal year has been very special for Rewe in
many ways: 2004 was to become one of the most successful
years in the firm's history. With a turnover from
independent Rewe retailers and our subsidiaries in
Germany and abroad totalling 41 billion euros and with
profits matching those of the previous year, the Group
completed the year better than planned.
The past twelve months were not only a success for us all,
however, they were also rough and moving. Reflecting on
the year makes it clear that we are now at the end of a
transformative phase. Rewe today is certainly not a completely
different company, but the firm has undergone
deep changes. This was brought about by several events,
yet this transformation itself was a necessary - almost
natural - revitalisation process.
As the CEO, Hans Reischl led Rewe for nearly a
quarter of a century, leaving his mark on the company.
Under his leadership, the Group became one of the
most important European trading and travel companies -
with dynamic growth and solid results. The Supervisory
Board and everyone at Rewe is indebted to Mr. Reischl
for this achievement. The appointment of Dr. E. Dieter
Berninghaus as CEO was supposed to usher in the transi-
tion to a new generation of senior management at the
company. But the poor health of the new CEO and his
still uncertain role in an investment decision that went
badly for Rewe soon put an end to the enthusiastic expectations.
The employment contract with Dr. E. Dieter Berninghaus
was dissolved. Fortunately, the remaining three
members of the Management Board still managed to
handle the
wide-ranging tasks of running the company quite well.
We have had a complete Management Board with a
Chief Executive Officer again for several weeks now.
The transition to a new generation of senior managers is
complete; the necessary continuity in company leadership
was never in jeopardy. The new Management Board is a
healthy mixture of two "seasoned veterans" who have
held positions of high responsibility at Rewe for years
and two younger managers with international experience
who have a lot of new ideas to offer us.
Of course, we were not only engaged in solving personnel
issues in 2004. On the contrary: key decisions fundamental
to the future of the company were taken and implemented.
Of these, the first to mention dealt with modernising
the aging corporate structure of Rewe. Much of the