Metro does not become a retailer, announcing the reduction of business lines in China focusing on business-to-business

Yesterday, the new president of Metro China, the Dutchman, Chiron in Shanghai, said the latest strategic launch of the "retailer". He said it would shrink China's line of business, focus more on business-to-business models, avoid competing with large retail companies such as Wal-Mart and Carrefour, return to its European business model and target SME clients.

News: Metro announces reduction of business line in China

Chiron, new president of Metro China, announced yesterday although China is the world's third-largest market for Metro's current-purchase operations after Germany and France, it has 76 stores in 53 cities and will open three more stores from 2013 to 2014, but Metro will still shrink its line of business in China.

Specific line of business adjustment, from the past e-commerce, commerce, Fu Li, bulk procurement, catering, factory, customer sales, is now purchased from the wholesale shopping malls, focusing on e-commerce, business support, Fu Li Products, food distribution, now purchased from the wholesale shopping malls five business.

Metro will be its own store positioning as "self-transportation wholesale market", in the future, Metro will focus more resources on business-to-business models, focusing on catering customers, business customers. In the future, we will increase the price competitiveness and emphasize the wholesale concept. For E-commerce, Chiron admits, "The electric business is really hard to do, very burning money." "The future of Metro's electric business platform will be transformed to O2O, customer base will be more inclined to professional customers, and will study online, offline products complementary or unified operation."

Paparazzi: Chain hundred strong in China sales growth continued to fall

In fact, if you contacted the latest report issued by the China Association of chain operators, it's not surprising that Metro wants to get rid of the "retailer" status: China's strong-chain report shows that since 2010, the chain of strong sales growth has continued to fall, and by 2013 sales growth for the first time in single-digit digits, the lowest in 13 years.

The US retail giant Wal-Mart, which is "paying" for the aftermath of the rapid expansion, not only expands on the brakes, but also starts closing stops – Wal-Mart had 407 stores in China last year, but its stores grew by only 3% per cent, while its net profit plunged 84.4% to 52.95 million yuan last year.

The data also shows that the China Chain Association has just released China's fast-products chain hundred rankings, the Metro to sales of 17.5 billion yuan, an increase of 8%, more than 3.5 million procurement customers, ranked 15, compared with Wal-Mart in China, 72.2 billion yuan sales, Carrefour sales 46.7 billion yuan, the difference is relatively far.

Point of view: No retailer is the choice of "meager profit era"

In Beijing, a well-known communications company, Mr. Wang told reporters, the company for thousands of employees have been handled by Metro's membership card, their weekends and their families often to Beijing Wanquan to buy fresh products, big bags of cat food, toilet paper and other supplies. How could such a company claim to be not a "retailer"?

In this respect, the director of Business Economics Institute, Beijing University of Business and Industry, said, "China's commercial retail industry, goods, services, business style to store decoration are homogeneous problems." Metro chooses to focus on catering customers, business customers, emphasis on the concept of wholesale, the choice of streamlining China line of business, not to do "retailers" is a commercial retail industry in the era of meager profit, and its accumulated experience in Europe can provide a better competitive advantage.