Germans incensed by the euro rip-off are celebrating the merits of being stingy, and comparing products in blind-taste tests, writes Derek Scally in Berlin
Germans and their money aren't easily parted. That much has been clear since they bid farewell to their Deutschmark for the euro and the most popular sport in Germany has become schnäppchenjagd or bargain hunting.
The simple exchange rate of almost two marks to one euro meant that customers could spot price-hikes a mile away. Already faced with an economic slump and rising unemployment, the opportunistic euro price-hikes were just too much for most people here. Days after it came into circulation, the unloved euro was dubbed "teuro", after teuer, the German for expensive.
Retailers realised they had a crisis of confidence on their hands and began bombarding customers with slogans such as "Stinginess is Super!" and "Cheap is Cheerful!". One electrical retailer told customers that all prices in its stores were negotiable. Another electrical chain took customers who liked to shop around and put them in its advertisements, raving over the retailer's prices, saying: "I'm not stupid!"
Even car companies got in on the act when Skoda hinted to Germans that their cars are Volkswagens in all but name: "Drive Skoda, Buy Champers in Aldi, Perfect!"
Suddenly, being price-conscious is nothing to be ashamed of - it is a badge worn with pride.
It feels like everyone doesn't just know the price of a litre of milk, but also the price of a kilo of oranges and a loaf of bread. It is a refreshing change from Ireland, where the inexact euro exchange rate seemed to have loosened even further many consumers' already-shaky handle on prices.
Germans began to complain loudly about euro price-hikes and the government - criticised for not introducing a price-freeze law - launched a website where people could warn others of rip-offs, to the anger of retailers and manufacturers.
Restaurant-owners, stung by a sharp downturn in trade, put together fixed-price lunch and dinner menus. At one restaurant in Hamburg, the owner and chef let customers on Monday nights pay what they felt their meal was worth.
Faced with huge consumer resentment, discount chains Aldi and Lidl seized the moment. They slashed prices across the board and took out huge newspaper advertisements saying most of their products were cheaper than a year ago.
Aldi has been a major player in the German retail market for 40 years but in the last months, the no-frills chain has gone from cost-cutter to cult. Turnover rose by nearly 10 per cent last year, to an estimated €25 billion in Germany alone. Customer numbers jumped by nearly 10 per cent as well, with the largest group of its new shoppers from the well-to-do ABC1 bracket.
Popular consumer magazines and television shows have given the discount chains a boost through countless blind-taste tests of products, from chocolate to cheese, which almost always end with Aldi on top. In one test involving wine experts, a bottle of Moët & Chandon at €25 came out second to Aldi's own-brand champagne at €9.99.
Buying brand-name products at brand-name prices has fallen so out of favour here, that the 50 leading German companies - from Nivea to Knorr - have panicked and launched a €25 million nationwide poster blitz this summer. The campaign is highly unusual because, for once, they aren't advertising their brands, but rather the notion of brand-name shopping with the slogan: "The brand. Nothing else."
Johann C. Lindenberg, head of Germany's Brand Association, says: "The campaign underlines the high level of security, the unique quality and strength of innovation of the brand."
Trouble is, nobody believes the big brands any more. Many have no choice but to sell their products to Aldi and Lidl under own-brand labels, or else miss out on more than a third of the German market. Wily German consumers have copped on that the own-brand products are often made, in great secrecy, by the brand-name firm. Now, manufacturers are trying to win back market share by convincing people that brand-name products, more lucrative for them, have some sort of healing properties.
German consumers have always been a demanding lot. They demand the best price and the best service: if something appears too expensive or if the service is poor, they will point it out immediately, rather than moan to their friends in the pub afterwards.
Consumer power is alive and well here, too, with dozens of consumer lobby groups in every sector. The Probahn group, representing train commuters, recently helped force the national train company, Deutsche Bahn, to abandon its new price system that drastically increased the already-high cost of train travel.
Probahn told people to boycott trains - customers stayed away and Deutsche Bahn lost €185 million in the first three months of this year.
This month the company caved in, an unprecedented success for German consumers and brought back the old system with the humble message: "We have learned our lesson".
Germans may be some of the richest people in Europe, but their belief in consumer pressure and their no-nonsense attitude to price show they have no interest in throwing away their money.
Although recent surveys show that consumer confidence is slowly returning to Germany, the thrifty lessons from the economic gloom of last two years have been well-learned.
As one well-known newspaper columnist put it: "These days Germans go into a shop, turn a euro coin over in their hand three times and then put it back in their pocket."
