Metro says Poland's just the ticket

Metro Group, the leader on the Polish wholesale and retail market and represented by four sales brands, Makro Cash & Carry, Real, Media Markt and Saturn, plans to open between 13 and 17 new stores and invest EUR 200 (zł.782) million. The list of new stores will include three Makro Cash & Carrys, two to four Real hypermarkets and eight to 10 Media Markt and Saturn electronics stores.

"The Metro Group is benefitting from its strong presence in the promising markets of Eastern Europe and Asia with double-digit growth rates," says Dr. Hans-Joachim Körber, chairman of the management board and CEO of Metro Group.

According to the German company, the Polish market's potential is far from being exhausted and is a very important element in Metro Group's portfolio. Last year's results show that sales achieved a particularly strong increase in Eastern Europe with a rise of 21.9 percent. Metro Group's sales in Poland increased by 16 percent last year, to reach EUR 3.04 billion (zł.11.9 billion). The total income for the group in 2005 was EUR 55.7 billion (zł.217.5 billion).

At present, the German retailer has 83 outlets. Makro Cash & Carry operates 21 outlets and boasts approximately 1.3 million registered customers. The chain of 28 Real hypermarkets offers over 50,000 food, non-food and household appliance products. The 25 Media Markt and three Saturn stores, which are consumer electronics stores, operate as stand-alone outlets or within shopping centers.