WESTside Stories

WESTside Stories is built from workplace conversations inside REWE Region West. The format is simple and steady. Christiane sits with colleagues, buyers, market managers, merchants, academy participants, and employee representatives, then lets them explain how their work actually developed. Recent episodes spend real time on career paths, not just job titles. Sarah Cengiz talks about becoming self-employed and the first year of running a market. Ünal Ebulu looks back on a long route from early work to opening his own market in Simmern. Armin Lenzen describes moving from trainee to merchant, carrying decisions alone, and splitting life between Brühl and Köln. Melanie Koch’s Adenau market brings a different kind of pressure, shaped by the Nürburgring, Rock am Ring, the 24-hour race, and sudden waves of customers. Those stories are practical. They include shelves, parking lots, morning openings, team days, cash registers, weather, visitor numbers, training, driving, and the feeling of unlocking a market before anyone else arrives. The takeover episode widens the frame through colleagues connected to the National Rewe Leadership Academy and their podcast project, REWElutionär. Another episode explains the Betriebsrat through Mike Esser and Josef Csok, focusing on advice, timing, trust, and the value of coming forward before problems are fixed in place. The show’s pace is measured and conversational. It does not hunt for drama. It lets pride, uncertainty, responsibility, and routine come through in ordinary workplace language. Light games and either-or questions soften the room, especially after process-heavy sections. The strongest episodes make a large retail region feel specific: one market, one team, one opening day, one hard decision at a time. The show works best for people who enjoy behind-the-scenes company culture, retail operations, and grounded career stories told by the people doing the work.