Group business model

METRO GROUP’s corporate structure is characterised by a clear division of responsibilities. The group is headed by METRO AG. As a central management holding company, it oversees group management functions, including, in particular, Finance, Controlling, Legal and Compliance. The central management and administrative functions for METRO Cash & Carry are formally anchored within METRO AG.

The group’s operational business is handled by our three sales lines. In some cases, the sales lines operate in the market with several sales brands or through subsidiaries, depending on the respective strategy, segment and specific competitive environment.

METRO Cash & Carry is responsible for the group’s wholesale business, Media-Saturn for consumer electronics retailing and Real for hypermarkets. All sales lines have undivided responsibility for their entire value chain – from procurement to logistics to store-based retail and online sales.

Galeria Kaufhof was sold to Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) during financial year 2014/15. The transaction was successfully completed at the end of September 2015. Due to the sale, Galeria Kaufhof is no longer shown as a separate segment, but under discontinued operations.

Service companies support all METRO GROUP sales lines with services in such areas as real estate, logistics, information technology and advertising. Together with METRO AG as a management holding, they are recognised under “Others”.

Overview of METRO GROUP

METRO Cash & Carry is a leading international player in self-service wholesale trade. Its brands METRO and MAKRO operate in 26 countries throughout Europe and Asia. The wholesale stores offer products and services tailored to the specific needs of professional customers, such as hotels and restaurants, catering firms, independent retailers, service providers and public authorities. In August 2015, METRO GROUP acquired the Classic Fine Foods group (CFF). CFF is active in 25 mostly Asian cities in 14 countries and supplies premium hotels, restaurants and catering firms. At the end of 2014, METRO Cash & Carry closed its stores in Denmark. The wholesale business in Greece was disposed of in January 2015. The sale of the wholesale activities in Vietnam is scheduled to close in financial year 2015/16.

Media-Saturn is Europe’s number one consumer electronics retailer. The sales line’s success is based on a combination of factors: the strong Media Markt and Saturn brands, a decentralised organisational structure with local managing directors holding minority stakes, and the close dovetailing of all distribution channels and services in a seamless offer for customers. In pure online retail, Media-Saturn has a presence in eight countries through the online retailer Redcoon, a fully owned subsidiary of Media-Saturn, and is represented in Russia through the 003.ru brand. In addition, Media-Saturn acquired a majority stake in live shopping portal iBOOD in April 2015 and a majority stake in repair and services provider RTS in August 2015, thereby expanding its consumer services offering. The closing took place in October 2015.

Real is one of the leading hypermarket operators in Germany, where it is active both in store-based and online retail. All Real hypermarkets are characterised by a large proportion of high-quality fresh produce, a wide range of non-food articles and attractive prices offering good value for money.

Store network by countries and segments