Editor's Note: While former CSP intern Ashley Dickens is spending some time abroad, she is providing some perspective of the c-store market in the cities and countries she'll be visiting. Watch CSP Daily News every two weeks for regular reports from Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic and other European destinations. In this fifth installment, we get a look at retailing convenience in three Heidelberg, Germany.
HEIDELBERG, GERMANY -- My first impression of the gas stations and convenience stores of Heidelberg was that they were very similar to what [image-nocss] I had seen elsewhere, both in the United States and in France. But, upon further research, I discovered that the German convenience stores and gas stations have little differences that make them unique and often appealing to the American tourist.
In Heidelberg, a little town with a population of 139,941, tabacs litter the streets much like those of Strasbourg, France. However, one major difference between the German tabac and the French tabac is the amount of tobacco sold at these convenience stores. The tabacs of Germany concentrate more on pleasing the tourist than they do satisfying local nicotine cravings. Acting as small gift shops, the stores in Heidelberg sell a large variety of wooden toys for children. In addition, modern toys and conveniences are sold, such as toy cars, watches and film.
In the store, the small differences continue. Objects such as toys, film and cuckoo clocks line the walls instead of newspapers, and tobacco is less noticeably displayed behind the counter. Candy bars fill the space beneath the counter, and newspapers and magazines are displayed in rotating racks beside the counter. One outstanding difference is that the clerks are more willing to speak English and are not put off when tourists enter the shop, as I often felt in Strasbourg and Paris. Au contraire, the salesmen are very pleased to be attracting the customers their stores target.
Furthermore, the location of the stores seems to be concentrated around areas that attract tourists. I was able to shop in the German tabacs near the castle of Heidelberg, near a popular French restaurant and near the local cathedral. Although the stores are not as numerous as their French equivalents, the German tabacs are about double the size. However, even though these stores had more space, the stores still seem to be crammed between other shops and filled to the brim with knickknacks.
I also found a Shell gas station right outside the old city center of Heidelberg. The fuel pumps were very similar to those in the United States, offering the choices of regular, unleaded and diesel and located under a canopy. Inside the c-store, I very much felt that I was back in the States. Aisles with shelves displayed candies, chips, canned goods and jerky. There also was a cooler with carbonated soft drinks, beer and milk. I was even surprised to find a small corner display of items for the car. These included motor oil, air fresheners and de-icer. But the difference between the German Shell and their U.S. counterparts was the display behind the counter of freshly baked pastries. The aroma was enough of a seduction to necessitate a purchase.
So, although the German tabacs and Shell gas station did not give me the experience I felt when discovering the drive-thru pumps of Italy, they did force me to discover the small differences that made them unique. These differences, from the stores of France to the stations of America are what made me, as a tourist, appreciate the German convenience store a little more. The clean atmosphere that welcomed travelers was enough to keep me coming back for more.
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