Lekkerland opens its own fuel station to get closer to its customers
German convenience player will operate its first fuel station from October 1 to gain first-hand insight into the needs of its fuel retail customers.
Rewe Group subsidiary Lekkerland will operate an Aral-branded station in Frechen, near Cologne, leasing it from local station operator W. Kleffmann.
The move is explicitly framed as a learning exercise rather than a commercial pivot. "We want to gain an even better understanding of the needs of our fuel station customers in order to develop even better solutions for them," said Wolfgang Cezane, Lekkerland's Vice President for SME and Independent Fuel Stations. "As an operator, we directly experience the economic, operational and staffing conditions that shape the fuel station business."
The Frechen site will offer Lekkerland's standard convenience range alongside coffee, hot and cold snacks and prepared food. A car wash and workshop on the same site will be operated by third parties.
The station sits close to Lekkerland's own headquarters, where the company already runs its Convenience Foodservice Academy and Convenience Experience Centre, training facilities that combine theory and practice for customers and staff.
Lekkerland supplies the full shop range to W. Kleffmann's existing stations, making the new lease arrangement a deepening of an established partnership. The company serves around 40,000 points of sale across Germany and reported revenue of €10.3 billion in 2025 as part of the REWE Group.
