Wilms's crisis strategy: Metro Punct

Dusan Wilms, the most powerful executive in Romanian trade, believes the strategy any merchant should adopt in a time of crisis is completely different from the one to be pursued in times of economic boom. Now a greater emphasis is placed on innovations and on the relationship with clients, with the company developing a series of projects that could not have been applicable in times of fast-growing sales.

One of the projects is the development of Metro Punct stores, with areas ranging between 1,000 and 3,000 square metres, several times smaller than classical cash & carry stores. Although they target the same type of clients, these stores, which entail an average investment of one million euros, are located in areas where a Metro Cash & Carry store would not have a sufficient business volume. However, in order to attract professional clients every day, who would have had to travel longer distances to get to a Metro store, the German merchant has so far opened two such stores.

"Instead of travelling 60 kilometres to Baia Mare to get their weekly supplies, a client can now go daily to Metro Punct in Satu Mare for their merchandise; they can continue to go to Baia Mare products less often bought," says Dusan Wilms, general manager of Metro Cash & Carry, the biggest trade company on the Romanian market, with 1.23 billion euros in turnover in 2009.