Why CAEM’s M25 Are the Shelving Solution for Convenience Stores, Supermarkets

Introduction: Why Shelf Systems Make or Break Supermarket Success

In today’s fiercely competitive grocery sector, every square meter counts. For supermarket executives managing chains, franchisees looking for flexible formats, or local convenience store owners, store fixture decisions impact not just space utilization, but footfall, consumer experience, operational efficiency, and long-term client retention.

Behind every best-in-class retail environment lies a sophisticated modular shelving solution tailored exactly to the store’s commercial strategy. Increasingly, industry leaders are abandoning one-size-fits-all import shelves in favor of an industrial, scalable, and fully customizable solution. This is where CAEM stands alone — and why our M25 system family, with its technical refinements and game-changing options like M25 Wire, is the gold standard in European and global food retail.

CAEM: The Real Industrial Alternative, Trusted Worldwide

CAEM is not just another shelving company. With over 60 years of continuous innovation in modular shelving for food and non-food retailers, we are:

• The only European manufacturer offering complete in-house design and production for modular gondola shelving, specialized shopfitting accessories, and point-of-sale fixtures.

• An R&D and engineering team dedicated to bespoke solutions, because every retail chain deserves its own format — not just another imported copy.

• Proven partners to supermarkets, hypermarkets, discounters, and convenience formats worldwide — with success stories on four continents.

Discover our story and credentials: About CAEM

The M25 Modular Gondola Shelving System: Designed for Modern Food Retail

The M25 system was purpose-built for the convenience, supermarket, and food categories — but its performance and flexibility have won converts across pharmacy, specialty, and even non-food retail. Its success starts with the technical engineering:

• Tubular uprights with ultra-precise 25mm slotting enable shelves to be placed exactly where merchandise and planogram require, no wasted vertical face, and maximum facing per meter.

• Central back panel innovation: Instead of conventional double back panels sitting outside the uprights, the M25 uses a single central back panel locking the uprights together. This design means:

  • Shelves are recessed into the upright by 3cm on each side;

  • The same storage/display capacity is achieved within a narrower footprint, effectively saving 6cm per gondola run;

  • Wider aisles and improved store traffic flow without sacrificing inventory capacity;

  • More gondola runs (or more comfortable aisles) in the same store footprint — proven on live clients to immediately boost average basket and footfall.

Example: A 40cm nominal-depth run using M25 occupies only 37cm of floorspace — so you gain 6cm on every aisle. This can allow the addition of a full extra gondola in a standard-sized store!

• Low profile base: At just 10cm in height, M25’s base is among the lowest in the industry. More merchandising visibility at the bottom shelf level (an extra 5 or 6cm), meaning more facings and higher sales from ground level.

• Fine shelf edges and hinging price strips: The unique CAEM price strip is thinner than standard and hinges upward when customers pick a product. This allows shelves to be placed closer together for more SKUs per meter — up to 10% more facings compared to other systems.

• Modular shelf depths: 27–60cm bases; shelves in 30, 40, and 50cm (and in pitches of 66, 80, or 100cm runs). Everything is engineered for swift, tool-less adjustment.

• Epic load-bearing: Suspended shelves up to 605kg/shelf on 30cm length; base shelves up to 292kg/shelf. Combined configuration loading up to 752 kg — enough for even the heaviest retail loads.

Full technical breakdown available: M25 Modular Gondola Shelving – CAEM

Retailers Speaking: Proven Gains in Footfall, SKU Density, and Shopping Experience

One of the most consistent pieces of feedback from CAEM clients is that store layouts with M25 increase total facings and SKUs per square meter — leading to more consumer choice without more clutter.

Chain managers also describe improved client retention due to accessible, barrier-free display and improved traffic circulation. CAEM’s modular approach ensures even the smallest convenience stores can deliver the “big supermarket” merchandising standard.

Why M25 Wire? Wire Gondola Shelving for the Next Generation of Food Retail

M25 Wire builds on the extreme performance of the M25 base, but takes store ambiance and operational savings to a new level:

Key Advantages

• Light, Visibility, and a “Fresh Market” Feel: The wire back panels of M25 Wire allow light to penetrate through the shelving, creating a brighter, more open environment, and eliminating dark, shadowy aisles. The result? An “airy,” premium store feel proven to boost time-on-site, consumer experience, and basket size

• All-Wire Shelves – The Visual and Functional Leap:

  • Wire shelves not only look refined, but enhance product presentation (no bulky 25mm edges; just a slim, front-facing wire).

  • Even small “epos” (price tags/labels) are possible, letting you place tickets every 6cm — far more flexibly than standard shelves.

  • Products “float” visually, with the design bringing goods to the customer’s attention. No full-length shadow lines.

• Hygiene and Operational Benefits: Dust- and Crumb-Free

  • Traditional solid shelves collect dust and crumbs.

  • Wire shelves allow debris to fall through, massively reducing cleaning needs. Major chains cite significant maintenance cost reductions — because cleaning staff no longer wipe down every shelf.

• Engineered for Retail, Manufactured to Last:

  • CAEM’s M25 Wire is created using the latest high-precision, high-voltage automated welding for dimensional accuracy and heat-stability. Mass-production capacity means even the largest rollouts are never a problem.

• Brackets Hidden for an Unbroken Line:

  • The mounting brackets are invisible from the shelf front, offering a clean, “infinite” appearance in aisle runs. Price tags and merchandise have 100% uninterrupted space — no break points halfway across the facing.

• Maximal Configurability:

  • Choose wire or metal panels (central or frontal), round shelf options, and even rounded-end gondola runs for visual drama. Promotional totems and fully round displays are possible for high-impact experience zones or seasonal merchandising.

  • Wire finishes (highly recommended in dark tones such as metallic anthracite) make products “pop” and upgrade store ambiance.

• Accessories, Dividers, and Risers: A complete, engineered range — with dividers for segmenting shelves, risers for safety, and customizable options for any planogram.

Explore the full M25 Wire experience: M25 Wire Gondola Shelving

M25 & M25 Wire: Not Just Shelves – The Versatile Foundation for NEXT-GEN Food Retail

Area-Specific Merchandising: Every Department Covered

Modern supermarkets are not just about aisles of tins or packets; today, destination and specialty zones drive both footfall and basket uplift. M25 and M25 Wire are engineered to meet these challenges, with purpose-built features and optional accessories for:

• Fresh Fruit & Veg Islands: Robust, sloped or flat display options, custom dividers or baskets for easy product selection.

• Bread & Bakery: Deep, ventilated shelving, support for baskets and trays, safe food-contact surfaces if required.

• Wines & Spirits: Optimized bottle displays, anti-slip and anti-rolling features, and premium vertical presentation.

• Water Racks & Bulk Beverages: Extra reinforcement, shelf lips, and product stops for heavy or awkward loads.

• Beauty/Pharmacy In-Store: With CAEM’s retail pharmacy leadership, you get integrated vertical glass, LED, or secure cabinets for the highest-end beauty/personal care sectors — no discontinuity between general food and specialist retail. See Pharmacy Shopfits for more examples.

Your Chain, Your Identity: No One-Size-Fits-All

CAEM believes success in 2025’s competitive food sector requires not “a shelf,” but your shelf, your way.

Every CAEM supermarket/convenience project begins with a thorough consultation — not just catalog sales. Our R&D and technical team work hand-in-hand with chain decision-makers to identify the key business drivers (growth, basket size, basket speed, shopper segmentation, and consumer behaviors), then design, prototype, and deliver a store fixture and merchandising plan unique to your brand DNA.

• Format-specific gondolas: Whether high-traffic express stores or corner-format convenience, mainstream grocers, or flagship category leaders.

• Brand-aligned finishes: Full color, print, and material matching to reinforce store identity, wayfinding, and brand message.

• Accessories and mini-fixtures: Custom counters, promotional totems, digital price tags, and more.

• Flexible installation, global supply: Rapid delivery and install, factory-direct throughout Europe, the Americas, and MEA.

The Bottom Line: Why Choose CAEM for Your Modern Supermarket or Convenience Store

• Industrial strength and scalability: The only comprehensive European production—no weak import links, no brand “badges.”

• Proven global success: 60+ years of retail fitout leadership — chains in four continents, from multinationals to local champions, rely on our gondola shelving to optimize efficiency, sales, and in-store experience.

• Exact configuration and design, every time: Full consultative R&D, no generic “catalog only” approach. Your functional, operational, and design goals are met without compromise.

• Elite category fit: Fruit & veg, bakery, wine, beverages, beauty/pharmacy — all seamlessly integrated

• Ultimate consumer experience: Light, openness, SKU density, and aesthetic refinement won’t just draw in traffic; they’ll drive retention and loyalty.

• Operational efficiency: Maintenance is streamlined; product changes and remerchandising are quick and staff friendly.

• Brand differentiation: A unique format for your chain supports not just day-one footfall, but long-term consumer loyalty — and your next expansion.

Ready to Transform Your Food Retail Environment?

Start your journey with CAEM — take the industrial route, not the generic one. Invent your format, calibrate every fixture, and give your supermarket shoppers the best possible environment to return again and again.

Explore more:

• M25 Modular Gondola Shelving

• M25 Wire Gondola Shelving