Metro Cash and Carry

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Metro Cash and Carry is a wholesale hypermarket chain operating across Europe. It is the largest division of German retail giant METRO.

Metro Cash & Carry is different to other large retail chains such as Billa and Carrefour in that its stores are primarily destined to wholesale customers, not retail. The cash-and-carry concept is based around self-service and bulk buying. To be able to shop at Metro, customers need a card which shows they are eligible to buy in wholesale and are therefore professionals in a certain field, such as gastronomy, crafts, own business, etc.

International operations

As of 2004, Metro Cash & Carry has operations in the countries listed below.

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Bulgaria

The frist two Metro Cash and Carry hypermarkets in Bulgaria opened in Sofia and Plovdiv on 18 March 1999. As of 2006 the company operates seven stores in six cities:

A number of other stores are in construction, including one in Blagoevgrad.

Romania

Metro Cash and Carry was one of the first international supermarket/hypermarket chains to make an entry into the Romanian market, opening its first store in Bucharest, near Henri Coandă International Airport.

As of 2006, it operates 23 hypermarkets in major cities across the country and is one of the most well-known chains. Metro has stores in the following cities:

The supermarket in Oradea is one of the most successful of the branches and has been especially popular with Hungarians, who are crossing the border to buy products from the hypermarket since prices are significantly cheaper in Romania than in Hungary. This phenomenon has mainly started since Hungary joined the European Union, an occurrence which has increased prices in Hungary.

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