METRO: stronger focus on B2B

METRO communications manager Yvette Krubl told our magazine that 2012 was the year of market rationalisation: three chains quit the Hungarian market and the fight for consumers strengthened. Demand kept growing for the products with the best price/value ratio. In these categories METRO’s private label products (H-Line, RIOBA, Horeca Select, aro, Fine Food, Sigma, Corvinus) are an excellent choice for customers. In 2012 METRO launched many new products and services. The company works together with local businesses to increase the proportion of Hungarian products on the shelves of METRO stores. They are shaping logistics processes together and improving quality assurance at suppliers’ premises with GFSI and ISO quality management systems. METRO’s delivery service, online store and Customer Academy are constantly bettered, but they don’t forget either how in large part retail relies on good personal relationships. According to the communications manager, in the future cheaper, first-price products will become even more important than they are now. The company expects economic conditions to improve and hopes that this will manifest in increased basket sizes. In line with this METRO launched its No.1 price strategy, a long-term programme of offering customers their most important products at the best price locally available. As a conclusion, it can be said that METRO strengthens its B2B focus and it offers unbeatable prices and 100-percent on-shelf availability.