MCC | Company History

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METRO Cash & Carry International

METRO Cash & Carry looks back on a history of success in wholesale concepts. Founded in 1964 in Germany, the company quickly spread to many countries in Europe, Asia and Northern Africa. Its tradition in wholesale is accompanied by social heritage: A truly international corporate culture.

International expansion is a significant element of the corporate strategy. In about four decades, METRO Cash & Carry has grown from a Western Europe-centred wholesale concept to a leading international player in self-service wholesale, operating over 687 outlets in 30 countries in 3 continents. There, METRO Cash & Carry not only benefits from the dynamic economic development but also strives to promote local purchasing power and consumer demand.

In Figures

METRO Cash & Carry
Locations ¹	687
Number of countries ¹	30
Sales ²	30.6 bn
Total selling space ²	5.3 mn sqm
Headcount (annual average of full-time equivalents) ²	106.876
Articles, food assortment ²	20.000
Articles, nonfood assortment ²	30.000

*Status 31 December 2010

Company History

The self-service wholesale trade came to Europe in the year 1964 when METRO SB-Großmärkte GmbH & Co. KG was founded in Mülheim/Ruhr. The initiator and driving force behind this concept was Prof. Dr. Otto Beisheim. In 1967 the Franz Haniel & Cie. company became a partner in the new venture. Prof. Dr. Otto Beisheim, the Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH company and the Schmidt-Ruthenbeck family then each held one third of the shares in the German METRO activities and thus constituted the “original group of partners”.

As from the year 1968 the concept was extended beyond the German borders, with the Dutch company Steenkolen Handelsvereeniging N.V. (SHV) as a new partner. The two sides jointly established Makro Zelfbedienigsgroothandel C.V. with the original group of partners holding 40 percent of the shares in this activity. Within the framework of a first major expansion drive METRO/MAKRO Cash & Carry entered the market in nine Western European countries by 1972. In the nineties, METRO Cash & Carry expanded its activities to Portugal, Turkey, Morocco and to Eastern Europe.

In July 1996 METRO Cash & Carry merged with Kaufhof Holding AG and Asko Deutsche Kaufhaus AG and the METRO Group was founded. That year also saw the group’s going public. The METRO stock is the only retail stock listed in the German blue-chip index “DAX 30“.

The first step into Asia was taken when METRO Cash & Carry moved into China in 1996. Today the company is present in 5 Asian countries: China, India, Japan, Pakistan and Vietnam. The METRO Cash & Carry business is going to be further internationalized and expanded with the focus on Eastern Europe and Asia. Already by today, more than 80 percent of the staff is working outside of Germany. In many countries the company is one of the major employers.

10 METRO Cash & Carry principles

The success of the company is based on the following principles:

• Focus on professional customers
• One-stop shopping
• Efficient store concept designed for professional needs
• Advanced customer service
• Enhanced customers’ competitiveness
• Excellence in supply chain and quality management
• Strengthening of local suppliers
• Development of national infrastructures
• Career opportunities
• Internationally transferable concept