News

New corporate structure of METRO Group

- Metro Cash & Carry’s operations to be split into two units Europe/MENA and Asia/New Markets

- Objective: Safeguard Shape’s success and accelerate international expansion

- Consequent continuation of Shape 2012 in the holding companies: More efficient and customer-oriented organisation

- Streamlined and focused management functions

- METRO AG and Metro Cash & Carry Holding integrated

METRO Group is given a new corporate structure. The chief aspect is the split of Metro Cash & Carry into two business units – Europe/MENA, managed by Joël Saveuse, and Asia/New Markets, managed by Frans Muller. The new structure reflects the great importance Metro Cash & Carry has within the Group, and takes into account the considerably different regional market requirements. Furthermore, the organisational basis strengthens the successful implementation of the Shape programme, as well as the acceleration of the international expansion in the medium term. At the same time, METRO Group’s management organisation will be significantly simplified. The management and administrative functions at the Group’s holding company, METRO AG, and at Metro Cash & Carry are to be, to a large extent, integrated. Hereby, METRO Group is implementing the leitmotif of Shape 2012, namely to become more efficient and more customer-orientated, in the holding structures. At METRO AG’s ordinary Supervisory Board meeting on 16 March 2010 the respective resolutions were passed.

METRO Group thus underlines the importance of the Cash & Carry business for the Group. Metro Cash & Carry is to generate a large part of the earnings improvement potential targeted through Shape. Already last year, comprehensive measures were implemented here. The new structure enables METRO Group to address more intensively the strategic focal areas, which differ from region to region. The focal areas for the business unit Europe/MENA mainly comprise the turnaround in Germany, the extension of private labels and the further development of the delivery service. The focal areas of the business unit Asia/New Markets will be the acceleration in the medium term of the international expansion, as well as the improvement in the capital efficiency of new store openings.

In the course of the new Group structure implementation, administrative functions at METRO AG and at Metro Cash & Carry are to be, to a large extent, integrated, and duplicate functions avoided. Thus the company increases management’s effectiveness and realises cost savings. No additional expenses are expected to be incurred for the implementation, as these are already included in the planning of the special items from the Shape programme.

"Shape got to a very good start in 2009 and already contributed €208 million to EBIT in its first year", said Dr Eckhard Cordes, CEO of METRO Group. "Having concentrated, in the first phase, especially on cost savings, we are now focusing in particular on productivity gains. Thereby, Metro Cash & Carry, as one of the Group’s growth drivers, assumes a key position. The new structure enables us to implement the kicked-off change processes in the most optimal way."

The composition of METRO AG’s Management Board remains unchanged. Frans Muller will be responsible for the business unit Asia/New Markets, and Joël Saveuse will be responsible for Europe/MENA. At the same time, Saveuse will remain responsible for Real within the Management Board. The operational management of Real will be split between Roland Neuwald for Real Germany, and Didier Fleury for Eastern Europe.

METRO Group’s portfolio strategy remains unaffected by the structural changes. With regard to structures and staffing, the other sales divisions remain unchanged.

METRO Group is one of the largest and most international retailing companies. In 2009 the Group reached sales of around € 66 billion. The company has a headcount of some 300,000 employees and operates around 2,100 stores in 33 countries. The Group’s performance is based on the strength of its sales brands which operate independently in their respective market segment: Metro/Makro Cash & Carry – the international leader in self-service wholesale, Real hypermarkets, Media Markt and Saturn – Euro¬pean market leader in consumer electronics retailing, and Galeria Kaufhof department stores.

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