Focus of future business policy
launched in 2009 and targeted to last for four years, the effi- ciency and value-enhancing programme shape 2012 has changed MeTRo GRoUp’s corporate culture. In addition to a new emphasis on individual responsibility and entrepreneur- ial actions, the systematic focus on the needs of our custom- ers is a major aspect of this programme. The specific needs
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of customer groups as well as regional market conditions play a crucial role in this strategic focus. We are addressing these factors by further refining sales formats and sales channels. In addition, an entrepreneurial attitude continues to be promoted and shapes daily actions.
at Metro Cash & Carry, the focus is clearly on professional, commercial customers. The wholesaler has successfully introduced its delivery service in nearly all stores and will continue to expand it. smaller store formats and a sales force more focused on the customer will reach new customer groups, promoting greater customer centricity and retention. Real will forge ahead with its repositioning. The introduction of other tailored product worlds will increase the appeal of Real hypermarkets. additional growth fields are being tapped by online sales and the innovative service Real Drive. Media- saturn will continue to dovetail its stationary business with online shopping and will introduce the appealing multi- channel strategy internationally. This will generate high sales potential in years to come. online sales will be further pursued by taking such steps as using the Redcoon brand. Galeria Kaufhof will continue to rigorously focus its business on the zeitgeist. By broadly increasing its range of products sold online, the sales division will expand this rapidly growing sales channel.
Efficiency and value-enhancing programme shape 2012
The aim of shape 2012 is to secure MeTRo GRoUp’s long- term profitable growth. To achieve this goal, we have stream- lined our structures and introduced measures to further improve our business. During the final year of shape 2012, the programme’s focus will shift in particular to measures aimed at further fuelling and implementing productivity improvements. In this way, the idea of making our Company more customer-focused and efficient is increasingly anchored in our day-to-day business. shape 2012 will reshape MeTRo GRoUp beyond the year of 2012 and is preparing us for future challenges.
Non-financial targets
In addition to its financial targets, MeTRo GRoUp also pur- sues a number of non-financial targets. These will be out- lined in detail in the next progress report. The goals are related to the four topics of “supply chain and products”, “energy and resource management”, “employees and social affairs” and “social policies and stakeholder dialogue”. Fur- thermore, our long-term objective is to reduce our green-
house gas emissions per square metre by 15 percent by 2015 compared with the reference year of 2006.
Future sales markets
on the balance sheet date, MeTRo GRoUp was operating in 33 countries in europe, asia and africa. We aim to continue to grow through existing and new locations in these markets. We are conducting feasibility studies to examine expansion oppor- tunities for our sales divisions in other countries. In general, we enter new markets by first opening a Metro Cash & Carry store. Depending on the respective country’s development status in terms of market maturity and potential, entry opportunities for Real and Media-saturn may subsequently arise as well. entry into additional countries is not planned for Galeria Kaufhof.
new sales channels are opening the way to new sales poten- tial. one key source of sales is the growing popularity of online shopping. all our sales divisions are responding to this shift by expanding their multichannel product ranges. Besides technical solutions like applications, they provide their customers with an extensive range of products and ser- vices in their online shops. The stationary store can serve as a pickup location and assures personal contact. providers that work exclusively on the Internet lack this capability. This option is valued and well received by customers.
Future sales formats, technologies and processes/future products and services
We continually work on the further development of our sales formats in the areas of customer approaches, product offers and processes, building on continuous analyses of constantly changing customer requirements. The findings of these ana- lyses also flow into the new sales formats we design and regu- larly test. These include smaller, downtown Metro Cash & Carry stores that specialise in supplying nearby hotels and restaur- ants as well as sales formats such as Metro Drive and Real Drive, which enable commercial customers and consumers to order goods online and then pick up the prepared order at these stores.
all sales divisions are focusing on own-brand products in their merchandise management. The existing extensive product range will be expanded in 2012 and future years. The introduction of own-brand products by Media-saturn in 2010 has been well received. The sales division will intro- duce the products in other countries in 2012 and markedly expand this range.
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The products and services offered by our sales divisions are geared to customer needs and shopping habits. The indus- try continuously provides all sales divisions with innovative products. new products in consumer electronics, in par ticu- lar, generate the most interest. In 2011, relatively few innov- ations were introduced. However, we expect the number of innovations to start to climb once again in 2012 and 2013. Brand-name manufacturers continuously introduce new products in the area of consumer goods and durables. In this area, we collaborate with producers and serve as an interface between manufacturers and customers. However, many new products are not destined for lasting success and are subsequently replaced by other innovations. Due to the large number of new products, we select those that offer added value to our customers.
We analyse the needs of our customers by examining infor- mation on shopping behaviour. Information obtained from the use of loyalty cards plays a key role in this research. every customer of Metro Cash & Carry has an identification card. at Real and Galeria Kaufhof, the payback card is offered as an instrument to promote customer retention. By analysing the data provided by these cards, we can better address our customers’ needs. In addition, we use this pur- chasing data to design sales formats and assortments. our procurement processes are also equipped for the future. For relevant products, we have begun to establish procurement offices in critically important producer regions. By doing so, we gain direct access to suppliers, which enables us to purchase products locally and check their quality without having to rely on an intermediary. logistics is a key element of our supply chain. It must ensure that the correct amounts of all required products are available to customers at the right time. In future, we intend to further optimise our logistics in order to quickly, efficiently and sus- tainably transport products to our stores.