| Metro Cash & Carry | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Type | Private |
| Founded | 1964 |
| Headquarters | Düsseldorf, Germany |
| Key people | Thomas M. Hübner, CEO |
| Industry | Retail |
| Products | Cash & Carry Stores |
| Revenue |  €29.9 billion (2006) |
| Employees | 100.000 (2006) |
| Website | www.metro-cc.com |
METRO Cash & Carry is the international leader in self-service wholesale operating across Europe and in some countries of Asia and Northern Africa. It is the largest sales division of the German trade and retail giant METRO AG. METRO Cash & Carry is different from large retail chains such as Billa and Carrefour in that its stores are primarily targeted towards professional customers rather than end consumers. The cash-and-carry concept is based around self-service and bulk buying. To be able to shop at METRO customers need to be duly registered and be issued a card which shows that they are eligible to buy at METRO Cash & Carry. METRO Cash & Carry's customers include retailers, hotels, restaurants, caterers and other business professionals.
Contents |
International operations
As of 2007, METRO Cash & Carry has operations in the 29 countries listed below.
| Country | First Wholesale Center | Number of Wholesale Centers |
 Germany |
1964 | 122 |
 France |
1971 | 86 |
 Italy |
1972 | 48 |
 Russia |
2001 | 37 |
 China |
1996 | 35 |
 Spain1 |
1972 | 34 |
 United Kingdom1 |
1971 | 33 |
 Poland1 |
1994 | 26 |
 Romania |
1996 | 23 |
 Ukraine |
2003 | 18 |
 Netherlands1 |
1968 | 16 |
 Hungary |
1994 | 13 |
 Austria |
1971 | 12 |
 Czech Republic1 |
1997 | 12 |
 Belgium1 |
1970 | 10 |
 Portugal1 |
1990 | 10 |
 Turkey |
1990 | 10 |
 Greece1 |
1992 | 8 |
 Bulgaria |
1999 | 8 |
 Vietnam |
2002 | 8 |
 Morroco |
1991 | 6 |
 Croatia |
2001 | 6 |
 Denmark |
1971 | 5 |
 Slovakia |
2000 | 5 |
 Serbia |
2005 | 5 |
 Japan |
2002 | 3 |
 India |
2003 | 3 |
 Moldova |
2004 | 3 |
 Pakistan |
2006 | 1 |
1 operates under the brand name Makro
Bulgaria
The first two METRO Cash and Carry hypermarkets in Bulgaria opened in Sofia and Plovdiv on 18 March 1999. As of 2006 the company operates eight stores in seven cities:
A number of other stores are planned.
India
The first METRO Cash & Carry wholesale center in India opened in Bangalore in 2003. Currently there are 3 wholesale centers in operation, two in Bangalore [1] and one in Hyderabad [2]which was opened on 30th November 2006. Plans for Mumbai [3] and Calcutta [4] are underway.
Pakistan
METRO Cash & Carry announced its operations in Pakistan in January 2006 with an investment of €15 million per wholesale center. The company plans to open wholesale centers in all major cities of the country in the medium term. These cities include Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Hyderabad.
The first METRO Cash & Carry Pakistan wholesale center opened on Multan Road, Lahore near Thokar Niaz Beg (WikiMapia) on October 31st 2007. The opening ceremony (held on October 30th 2007) was presided by the Chief Minister of the Punjab, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi. METRO Cash & Carry Pakistan plans to open its next wholesale center in Islamabad (Wikimapia) in the first quarter of 2008.
Poland
The first Makro Cash and Carry shop was opened in Warsaw, Sosnowiec and Łódź in 1994. Now the copmany has 25 stores in:
- Białystok
- Bielsko-Biała
- Bydgoszcz
- Częstochowa
- Tricity (x2)
- Kalisz
- Katowice
- Kielce
- Koszalin (planned)
- Kraków
- Lublin
- Łódź
- Olsztyn
- Opole
- Poznań
- Rybnik
- Rzeszów
- Sosnowiec
- Szczecin
- Warsaw (x3)
- Wrocław
- Toruń (planned)
- Zabrze
- Zielona Góra
Romania
METRO Cash and Carry was one of the first international food and non-food retail chains to enter the Romanian market, opening its first store in Bucharest, near Henri Coandă International Airport. As of 2007, it operates 23 stores in major cities across the country and is one of the most well-known chains. Metro has stores in the following cities:
- Arad
- Bucharest (x4)
- Bacău
- Baia Mare
- Braşov (x2)
- Botoşani (planned)
- Cluj-Napoca
- Constanţa (x2)
- Craiova
- Deva (planned)
- Galaţi
- Iaşi
- Oradea
- Piteşti
- Ploieşti
- Sibiu
- Suceava
- Târgu Mureş
- Timişoara (x2)
The supermarket in Oradea is one of the most successful of the branches and has been especially popular with Hungarians, who are crossing the border to buy products from the hypermarket since prices are significantly cheaper in Romania than in Hungary. This phenomenon has mainly started since Hungary joined the European Union, an occurrence which has increased prices in Hungary.
Serbia
The first Metro Cash and Carry store in Serbia opened in Belgrade in 2005. As of 2006 the company operates five stores in four cities:
- Belgrade (x2)
- Kragujevac
- Novi Sad
- Niš
Belgrade stores are located in Zemun and Krnjača.
Ukraine
- Dnipropetrovsk (x2)
- Donetsk (x2)
- Kharkiv
- Kryvyy Rih
- Kyiv (x3)
- Lviv
- Odesa
- Poltava
- Vinnytsia
- Zaporizhia
- Luhansk
- Rivne
See also
External links
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