Why Metro wants to persuade kiosk owners to give up counters and too crammed shelves

Metro Cash & Carry store network announced it wants to get involved in 10,000 projects to modernise some district stores in the next three years, a strategy that could indirectly bolster its business with small retailers.

Metro last year launched a traditional store-remodelling programme for its clients, with 800 stores modernised so far. The company expects the number of stores remodelled with the aid of Metro in Romania to reach 1,300-1,600 by yearend, with the network having around 30 employees dedicated to these projects, providing free consulting services to traditional retailers.
"(...) By 2013, we want to reach a number of 10,000 remodelled stores and the team dedicated to these projects will expand to 100 persons," stated Claude Sarrailh, a customer management director with Metro Cash & Carry Romania.
"The biggest mistakes small retailers are making are the too broad range of products, overcrowding shelves, and the fact that prices lack good shelf visibility," said Sarrailh. "Counters are killing sales. Clients who have access to product shelves directly buy more," the Metro manager added.
Sarrailh states remodelled stores most of the times boost the volume of orders to the cash & carry network and that as they benefit from assistance, clients' loyalty to Metro rises.