METRO Cash & Carry Pakistan opens two new wholesale centers in one day in Faisalabad & Lahore

January 14th, 2009 – Today, METRO Cash & Carry, the international leader in self-service wholesale, opens two more outlets in Punjab simultaneously, one each in Faisalabad and Lahore. After the successful opening of its first two wholesale centers in Lahore and Islamabad, the inauguration of two new locations emphasizes the long-term commitment of the company to Pakistan. The company exclusively caters for professional customers like hotels, restaurants and small retailers like Kiryana stores. The assortment and services are tailored to the special needs of this target group.

“With a population of over 170 million people and eight cities with more than a million residents, Pakistan is a very attractive and important market for our company”, said  Giovanni Soranzo, Managing Director of METRO Cash & Carry Pakistan. “We see a huge potential for our business-to-business wholesale concept and will continue to invest in this country and grow in the coming years. Along with expansion, we also aim to contribute to the economic development of Pakistan.” On average, the capital investment for a new METRO Cash & Carry outlet is 20 million Euros.
 
Both grand opening ceremonies in the two neighbouring cities were a great success and attended by the leading business community, heads of commerce & trade bodies, government officials and a host of local suppliers. Mr. Rana Sana Ullah Khan, Punjab Minister for Law graced the occasion with his presence as the Chief Guest. Talking to the media personnel, Mr. Rana Sana Ullah said: “METRO´s unique business-to-business wholesaling concept is going to benefit the traders and retailers in a great way. The sales concept has been smartly adapted to our widely diverse local requirements. This is innovative and efficient and will make the market more competitive.”

The new METRO Cash & Carry wholesale centers feature more than 7,000 square meters of selling space and offer a comprehensive product range of more than 20,000 food and non-food articles. The focus on local suppliers, which is typical for METRO Cash & Carry, is also pursued in Pakistan. Around 80 percent of the goods on display originate from Pakistani producers and distributors. Each METRO Cash & Carry wholesale center employs 300 people from the local community. Moreover, 200 people are working at the company’s country headquarters in Lahore.

METRO Cash & Carry wholesale centers are open exclusively for professional customers, all of them duly registered and provided with a customer card. This means that the company does not sell to private end consumers. The core target group comprises hotels, restaurants, caterers as well as Kiryana stores and other small retailers. At METRO Cash & Carry‘s wholesale centers they can find everything they need to run their business under one roof. Moreover, the company offers a constant availability of highest quality products at competitive wholesale prices. For instance Kiryana stores can use METRO Cash & Carry as their warehouse and utilize their free capital for their businesses, rather than lock it up in inventory. The company’s unique business-to-business concept also caters to the professional work schedule with extended opening hours of up to 16 hours a day. Contrary to the traditional delivery wholesale, METRO Cash & Carry’s customers select their merchandize at the wholesale center in the quantities they need, pay in cash and transport their purchase back to their businesses by themselves. Products of any type are offered on a permanent basis and in large quantities.


METRO Cash & Carry International:

METRO Cash & Carry is represented in 29 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 about € 68 billion. The company has a headcount of some 290.000 employees and operates over 2,200 outlets in 32 countries. The operating business is performed by the sales brands which operate independently in the market: Metro/Makro Cash & Carry – world market leader in cash & carry wholesale, Real hypermarkets, Media Markt and Saturn – market leader in consumer electronics centers in Europe, and Galeria Kaufhof department stores. More information at: www.metrogroup.de.