CAP Märkte (CAP Markets) are medium-sized neighbourhood supermarkets in Germany employing disabled people. Each unit is typically run by a local disablement association, but the brand is owned by a co-operative of sheltered workshops. As well as good working conditions, they provide a cherished community service. The chain of CAP Märkte has grown steadily since 1998 and in 2022 reached 105 shops.
History
GDW Süd – Genossenschaft der Werkstatten für behinderte Menschen Süd eG – is a charitable co-operative set up in 1985 by the officially accredited organisations providing employment for disabled people on the two Germany Länder of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. It works with five other similar co-operatives to cover the whole of Germany. Initially it was a joint purchasing organisation for the sheltered workshops run by its member organisations. In 1983, it was restructured and now has five objectives:
to buy and sell jointly for its member institutions
to develop and sell products suitable for manufacture by disabled people
to set up and manage co-operative operations among member institutions
to give business and technical advice
to manage development projects
It works in six business areas to fulfil these tasks: the CAP Märkte, WKE (electronics recycling and document shredding), EP (assembly), AVK (order and payroll processing), ISB (information, training and advice) and KBM (joint purchasing).
GDW Süd developed the CAP Markt idea (the name comes from ‘handicap’) with its punning slogan "CAP – der Lebensmittelpunkt" which combines the words for "grocery point" and "centre of life". The business idea is to take over premises left empty by the flight of the main supermarket chains to out-of-town sites, and open neighbourhood grocery shops that are accessible on foot and provide a friendly service. The shops have a sales area of 400–1,000 m2, stock 7,000 lines, turn over between €750,000 and €2m a year, and employ between five and 20 people, two-thirds of whom are handicapped.
They provide jobs for handicapped people, aiding their integration through direct contact with customers; bring about local regeneration (by providing accessible facilities for people without cars); and counter exclusion by offering services such as home delivery of meals or postal services.
Results
The first CAP-Markt opened in Sindelfingen, near Stuttgart, in 1999. By 2017 the chain had grown to 106 shops, mostly in Baden-Württemberg, but increasingly in other areas of Germany as well. In 2006 the workforce numbered around 420, of whom 150 were skilled workers and 270 handicapped people. Of these 270, 100 worked under sheltered workshop conditions.
Approximately one-third of shops are run by sheltered workshops, and two-thirds are social firms trading on the market. Some associations run several shops. The attraction for disablement organisations running sheltered workshops is that opening a CAP Market enables them to create jobs for their users in the ‘real world’. These allow disabled people to have near-normal working life and to be a fully integrated part of the local community. Many of the jobs that sheltered workshops undertake, such as assembly or logistics, are carried out away from the public gaze. Retailing, on the other hand, brings users into direct contact with the public, and so has a greater therapeutic effect.
Success factors
Political support
The concept has three attractions for policy-makers:
(a) labour market policy: the Land of Baden-Württemberg, where the CAP Märket started, wishes to ensure equal opportunities for its disabled citizens. Its labour market policy is therefore to encourage the creation of integration enterprises, and its target is to reach a total of 2,000 jobs for disabled people by 2010. It has a successful programme including financial incentives for employers and career support services which has succeeded in reducing unemployment among disabled people by 20%.
(b) regeneration policy – the quality of life in towns falls when retailers close down, so there is support from residents for the empty sites to be reused. The properties are available at affordable prices.
c) sustainable development policy: the shops are close to customers, and can be reached on foot, which is particularly valuable for people without cars. To capitalise on this advantage, the shops offer a delivery service.