German retailer Metro Group plans to increase its presence in Russia, where it currently operates 200 stores, to 2,000 by 2020.
The new CEO of Metro Cash&Carry, Jere Calmes told publication Reuters that, "We are testing what works well and what doesn't in 2017. Then we have giant plans for 2018-2019 - to open 10 times more stores, more than 2,000 stores."
Metro Cash&Carry in Russia is currently concentrated in Moscow and St. Petersburg and environs, but Calmes said that it may enter new regions with this new expansion.
Metro Group recently voted overwhelmingly for a demerger into two companies, comprised of a wholesale and food business under the Metro brand, and a consumer electronics arm, Ceconomy.
It also posted a like-for-like sales increase of 0.1% in the first quarter of its 2016/17 financial year, with the retailer saying that it performed 'solidly in a challenging market environment'.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Karen Henderson. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
