TEXTINATION NEWSLINE 2010-11-16 Textile Discounter KiK will Show more Transparency in Future – Onward with Expansion

The KiK Textilien und Non-Food by KiK to be the responsible managing direc- GmbH (www.kik-textilien.com), located tor for sustainability management and com- in Bönen / North Rhine-Westphalia pany communication. “His appointment is a is planning to bring more transparency into signal that the international textile discounter the individual production processes. Kik is will position itself better outwards in the area providing of women’s, men’s, kid’s and baby of quality control, by showing an enhanced clothing, linen and stocking articles plus gift social and ecological responsibility as well as articles, toys, beauty-products, accessories, a more open communication.” Arretz was last home textiles “in good quality at the compa- the sole managing director of the Systain rably best price”. The company tries to give a Consulting GmbH (www.systain.de), Hamburg, better insight into the work to the customers a subsidiary of the Otto Group. and also helps them to better understand the KiK („Kunde ist König“ - customer is king -) business model, as press officer Beatrice employs Europe-wide 18,000 workers. The Volkenandt explained to Textination. total sales in 2009 was at 1.63 Bill . In “We can only offer such the German textile trade the enterprise good prices due to op- ranges under the timal process flow – Top Ten with the beginning at purchase, majority owner going further to logis- Tengelmann. Goal tics up to the presenta- for the next 5 years tion in the branch store. We are looking there- is the global expan- fore for the dialogue with the customer on a sion to 5,000 shops. Currently the company is regular basis – also with the campaign for present in , , , Czech Saubere Kleidung (Clean Clothing) Republic, , . At the end of (www.Saubere-Kleidung.de), with which we are 2010 they are owning already more than in a dialogue already since March 2008 at ir- 3,000 shops. In 2009 the stocking brand “Er- regular intervals. We face up to the critically gee“ was taken over accompanying activists and try to find solu- from the Vatter tions together.” Group, which is in- creasingly expanded As first textile now as own brand. discounter in Germany they In the administration are planning to headquarters in show their Bönen all centrally measures in a controlled depart- documentation ments are situated, in detail and appropriately. To the 1st of Au- from purchasing over gust 2010 Dr. Michael Arretz was appointed controlling to marketing. Here is also the

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European storage place. Together e.g. with and went into effect on 1st of November. The the Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft (eco- implementation of this new minimum wage by nomic promotion association) Unna they were their manufacturers is monitored closely by able to create around 1,000 jobs since their KiK. In China and India are regional differ- start in Bönen. ences possible, say said. The requirements of The central the Code of Conduct are oriented on the storage con- Standard SA 8000 (www.sa-intl.org) of the sists of 2 high Multistakeholder-Initiative Social Accountabil- rack storage ity International/SAI. Those are working to- areas with gether mainly with the Audit company Spe- 63,000 pallet cialized Technology Resources/STR storage spaces as well as a flat storage facil- (www.strquality.com). KiK-employees of the de- ity with 65,000 sqm. partment CSR - Corporate Social Responsi- bility - as well as the company purchasers KiK offers 17 recognized professional jobs. conduct repeatedly visits to the plants, some Per year about of which have been announced beforehand, 1,000 trainees are some not. Also the local counseling enter- being admitted, prise carries out plant inspections of the same where most of kind. In December 2009 KiK sold for the first them are taken time Organic Cotton-textiles, the next action over after their comes up in the prospect of the 6th of De- degree. According cember. to the Hauptverband des Deutschen Einzel- handels (HDE) (main association of the Ger- Currently KiK man ) are on average about 30% of the has no online- currently in the retail trade employed workers shop – only marginally employed. KiK ranks with around the tricot set 16.5% far below that, as was stressed. Since for 99.99 Euro 1st of October 2010 all employees receive at can be or- least 7.50 EUR per hour. dered over the tricot-shop They are producing mainly in Asia, especially www.kik-shop24.com; however, the subject in China and , but also in Eastern online will gain in importance in the coming Europe. Al- years for the discounter. For the enterprise it ready in 2006 is most important that regular as well as new a “Code of customers see KiK as textile basics suppliers. Conduct“ was That each customer is king is the service no- established. tion of the company – since only the satisfied This regulates consumer will come back. Therefore they that a worker have a number of service offers ready. Every has to earn at least the minimum wage. In customer can exchange an article without Bangladesh the minimum wage was 1,662.50 stating the reasons and gets his money re- Taka per month. A raise to 3,000 Taka (about funded. Also there is a gift coupon calendar 30 EUR) was determined by the government

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available and it is positively seen by the cus- tomer that KiK compared to other textile dis- counter marks their articles with the country of origin for the production.

Gert Krockert Translation Dr. H. Arndt

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