Metro speeds up in second half

After having announced in the first half that it wanted to invest in services rather than increasing the number of stores, German group Metro has decided it can very well do both. Subsequently, the Metro cash & carry network will reach 19 stores by the end of the year, with the German group having maintained its expansion pace over the last two years, i.e. four stores a year.

“We will open our fourth store in Bucharest in December, located in the south of the city in the Berceni area. This store brings our expansion in Bucharest to an end, as we have got the four cardinal points covered,” stated Delia Nica, PR manager with Metro Cash & Carry Romania.

The opening of this store, the 19th so far, means the German group is only one store away from the level it estimated for its initial expansion stage in Romania. Upon entry on this market back in 1996, the group had set its target to 10 stores. It had opened four stores by 1998 and, once its general manager was replaced, the goal was upped to 20 stores by the end of 2004 and the pace picked up speed. As a result, four stores were opened in each of the last two years, with Metro coming to total 15 stores, three of which in Bucharest, early this year.

Under the circumstances, the group’s turnover has been going up year by year, with Metro Romania’s achievements turning it into a top company in terms of turnover. Whereas its 2001 turnover was worth 14,100bn ROL (more than 540 million euros if calculated at NBR’s average rate) according to Finance Ministry data, this index was way over 21,300bn ROL (well above 680 million euros) last year. Sales went up 35% in the first half compared with last year, Metro officials say.

The company representatives specified that, whereas Metro stores had sold 300 million euros’ worth in the first half of 2002, they sold 400 million euros’ worth in the first half of 2003. Still, Metro maintains the goal announced for this year, 700 million euros, which means sales in the second half should stay at the same level as those in the corresponding period of last year.

The reason could be that most of the stores opened this year will be of little consequence to the 2003 sales figures, as they were dedicated quite late in the year. Metro opened a store in Suceava in October, another one in Targu Mures yesterday, while the 19th is scheduled to open in Bucharest in December.

The store Metro dedicated in Targu Mures yesterday entailed a 15 million-euro investment, with construction works having begun in mid June. The commercial area of the store is approximately 6,400 sqm, the standard Metro store format, and the product range comprises more than 15,000 items, foodstuffs and non-foodstuffs.

The only rival for Metro on the domestic market is another German group, Rewe, which is now operating five stores through its Selgros Cash & Carry division. The first store was opened in Brasov in 2001 and was followed by three more last year, two of which in Bucharest and one in Targu Mures. A new Selgros was dedicated in the Berceni area in Bucharest this year.