German-based Metro group plans to develop its domestic unit - MGI Metro Group Technology Romania, to provide IT services to the group's companies and is looking to recruit over 100 software engineers from the labour market.
The number of domestic staff employed by MGI Metro is likely to exceed 200 by the end of the year. "We're strengthening our IT operations outside Germany, in Bucharest. This development is part of Metro's internationalisation policy, which entails operations in new locations that can provide skilled IT support," reads a statement released by the Metro Group.
The headquarters of MGI Metro Group Technology are in D?sseldorf, Germany, with subsidiaries in Poland, Russia, Turkey and Romania.
The development of MGI Romania will support plans related to the expansion of Metro's international store network, which includes Romania, where the retailer has carried out an aggressive growth strategy with its Real hypermarket division.
In fact, the integrated structure of the group has allowed Real to become, after Kaufland, the most dynamic hypermarket network on the market, after it opened 8 stores in 2006. The two domestic Metro networks share the same warehouse space and have one procurement centre.
MGB Metro Group Buying Romania, the procurement centre for domestic Metro Cash & Carry stores and Real hypermarkets, was set up in 2005 and works with more than 1,000 domestic food and non-food suppliers. MGB Romania became part of Metro Group Buying International last year.
Germany's Metro retail group is currently the largest player in the Romanian trade industry, with 23 Metro Cash & Carry outlets and 9 Real hypermarkets. Metro Romania officials announced the end of its territorial expansion of cash & carry outlets, while Real Hypermarket plans to develop a chain of 21 hypermarkets by the end of next year.
Metro Group registered domestic sales worth 1.51bn euros last year, against 1.245bn euros in 2005. Metro Cash & Carry Romania reached a net income worth 66.2m euros in 2006, while Real Hypermarket reported losses after its first year in business on this market.
Metro is not the only foreign group that plans to rely on both software engineers and investments in IT support centres in Romania. Another multinational, Rompetrol, has an IT unit that provides software outsourcing services to companies within the group, and last year began to provide these services to companies outside the group. Last summer, Petrom announced investments worth around 50m euros for the implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning system by SAP. In addition, Raiffeisen has also committed itself to the highly skilled domestic IT workforce.
Metro's Romanian strategy
Intends to develop its domestic unit, MGI Metro Group Technology Romania, which is involved in IT services for companies in the group and will employ over 100 software engineers from the labour market
The development of MGI Romania supports plans related to the expansion of Metro's international store network, which includes Romania
Metro Romania announced an end to the territorial expansion of its cash & carry outlets, while Real Hypermarket plans to develop a chain of 21 hypermarkets by the end of 2008
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