Metro Cash & Carry boss expects consumption improvement in spring

Dusan Wilms, head of the largest player in the trade sector, Metro Cash & Carry Romania, with around 1.6 billion euros in sales, expects to see a stabilisation of consumption in the on-premise sector (hotels, restaurants, catering companies), after the market did not show signs of a rebound in the first two months of the year. The cash & carry store network of the Metro group, which mainly targets restaurant, bars, hotels, and resellers, relies on this segment to boost sales of private label products this year, although the segment fell more significantly than retail in the time of crisis, and has yet to see any signs of a rebound.

Wilms says one of the factors that precluded the stabilisation of consumption in the on-premise sector was the unfavourable weather. In Bucharest, at least, the number of restaurants closed because of crisis-generated problems continued to rise in 2010. The first two months of the year, for instance, saw two of the best-known restaurants in Bucharest, Festival 39 and Sherrif's closing.