The third Metro outlet in Bucharest will be opened, by the end of this year, in Voluntari and once this is opened, we will cover the Capital from the point of view of cash & carry services, Dusan Wilms, the general director of Metro Cash & Carry Romania SRL, told Ziarul Financiar.
The value of the investment, for each Metro outlet opened in Romania, stands at about DM30 million. "Metro plans to cover the market of cash & carry services of the entire country," Wilms also said.
The cash & carry concept was invented by those who set up the mother firm in Germany. Cash & carry shops address firms and are generally placed outside the city. Here, people buy in large quantities and the payment is made on the spot. Cash & Carry functions on the idea of maximal efficiency: its customers need to buy a lot and cheaply.
Dusan Wilms specifies that Metro has a well established concept, "everything under the same roof," according to which customers' necessities are covered from all points of view: "We cover the necessities of professional customers, who come to us and shop for their firms and once they are in the complex they also do their individual shopping", Wilms says. At present, Metro has 5 outlets: in Bucharest (two), Timisoara, Brasov and Constanta. Wilms told us: "We have made an analysis of Bucharest's potential and, considering the fact that it is developing at a good pace, we have decided to open the third complex and unitarily cover the entire city. Thus, we will be as close as possible to customers, which will allow them to unfold their activities very rapidly."
Beside the complex in the Capital, another one will be opened this year in Cluj and similar complexes will start being built in Bacau and Iasi.
Before deciding to set up a cash & carry, Metro draws a very precise analysis of the area or city customers, so as to see whether turnover they can bring is worth the investment.
"Afterwards, we do an area potential calculation, to decide whether to open a complex or not," Wilms explains.
Customers are visited two or three months ahead of the opening and are classified on groups, depending on the activity they develop.
Metro divides its customers into the following groups: HORECA- hotels, restaurants and catering firms; resellers- small shops; craftsmen- carpenters, constructors, etc.; freelancers- doctors, engineers, lawyers and the category including service firms-telecommunications firms or counselling offices.
Metro has been present on the Romanian market since 1996. Turnover forecast by Metro for year 2000 is $300 million (about DM 600 million).
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