Website search

METRO Group
Germany
Poland
Romania
Russia
Turkey

Group Communications

Metro Cash & Carry China opens two wholesale stores in one single day

25.11.2009

Metro Cash & Carry China opens two wholesale stores in one single day

"China is a crucial strategic market for Metro Cash & Carry. The openings of Kunshan and Changshu stores showcase once more our long-term commitment to the Chinese market", said Tino Zeiske, President of Metro Cash & Carry China. The company opens a total of four new outlets this year alone. "We will continue to invest and grow in China in the coming years. With our unique business-to-business concept, we provide our customers with everything they need to run their business under one roof. They get a fast and efficient one-stop solution for their purchases, instead of numerous daily deliveries with individual invoices, thus saving time and money."

The Metro Cash & Carry wholesale store in Kunshan, presents an assortment of 9,000 food and 7,000 non-food items on 7,200 square meters selling space. Changshu Store offers 9,500 food and 11,000 non-food items on 6,200 square meters selling space. For the convenience of professional customers, the stores open from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm and 10:00 p.m. respectively. The wholesale stores are located at No. 200 HuangPuJiang Nan Road, ZhouShi Town, KunShan City and No. 99 Tong Gang Road, Changshu City.

"With both cities' booming economy and advantageous location, Kunshan and Changshu provide a huge potential for our wholesale business. With our presence we will contribute to boost the local economy", added Tino Zeiske, President of Metro Cash & Carry China.

Metro Cash & Carry offers its customers a professional working environment, 365 days a year with extended business hours. The wholesale stores offer a particularly wide assortment of fresh products. Up to 90 percent of the products on offer are sourced locally. With its group-wide quality assurance system and a sophisticated supply chain management the company set new food safety standards in China. In 2006, Metro Cash & Carry China has implemented in all outlets the international HACCP standard (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point), an innovative preventive system to ensure food safety. Moreover, METRO introduced industry-leading traceability system for its Star Farm agri-products, which amount to 500 kinds so far.

A unique business-to-business concept
Cash & Carry wholesale is defined through its customer base: only professional customers are allowed to purchase at Metro Cash & Carry, all of them duly registered and provided with a customer card. This means that Metro Cash & Carry does not sell to private end consumers. It is not a super- or hypermarket chain for private consumption, but a modern form of wholesale exclusively tailored to the needs of businesses and companies. "Professionals serving professionals" is the company’s motto. The core customers are hotels, restaurants and caterers as well as other companies and institutions and small and medium-sized retailers.

Metro Cash & Carry is represented in 30 countries with over 650 self-service wholesale centers. With more than 100,000 employees worldwide, the company achieved sales of € 33.1 billion in 2008. Metro Cash & Carry is a sales division of the METRO Group, one of the most important international trading companies. In 2008 the Group reached sales of € 68 billion. The company has a headcount of some 300,000 employees and operates around 2,200 stores in 33 countries. The Group’s performance is based on the strength of its sales divisions which operate independently in their respective market segment: Metro Cash & Carry – the international leader in self-service wholesale, Real hypermarkets, Media Markt and Saturn – European market leader in consumer electronics retailing, and Galeria Kaufhof department stores.

Profile of Metro China
In 1996, METRO China opened its first wholesale store in the international metropolis of Shanghai. The company was among the first to gain permission from the China Central Government to set up chain operations in all major cities in China. Over the last decade, the company has set its foot already in 34 Chinese cities with 41 outlets in operation. With a headcount of around 8,000 employees, the wholesaler is serving more than 3 million professional customers across the country. More information at: www.metro.cn

Quick Finder