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Metro Cash to open more outlets

Special Correspondent

Products will be sourced locally

HYDERABAD: Metro Cash & Carry, a b2b multinational wholesaler catering to the needs of customers like hotels, restaurants, caterers, small retailers, service organisations and offices, will open its outlets in Mumbai and Kolkata soon. It is also on the lookout for other locations, including Delhi and Chennai.

Talking to presspersons here on Thursday, Alan Clayton, Operations Director, said the company was looking at a big time opportunity in India where 53 cities had a population of more than one million. The company was now operating in 28 countries.

Mr. Clayton said providing fresh products through chill chain (constantly maintaining the required temperature) to the last mile (end-customer) was the company’s strength. Special care was taken for protecting vegetables, fruits and other perishable commodities. Metro would make its purchases from the local area to a large measure so as to avoid the inter-State transportation costs.

While 95 per cent of stocks put on sale were purchased within India, five per cent of goods, which were not available in the country, were imported. However, import duties in India were prohibitive. The company’s stores had 8,000 varieties of food products and 10,000 varieties of non-food products. The hospitality industry in India was one of the stores’ biggest customers.

“We also recognise the importance of small kirana stores in the Indian context,” said Mr. Clayton.

The company was imparting training to vegetable and horticulture farmers and sheep growers to make their produce safe and competitive. The company’s sister concern, Metro Group, procured the stocks from different sources. Packaging and price of commodities was a big draw with its customers, Mr. Clayton said.

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