Under the Metro program, it will open the hundredth « my shop »
By the end of March, the wholesaler « Metro » will open the hundredth in a row of the « My Store » chain. This was announced by the company, which a year ago began on the principle of the franchise to assist owners of small neighborhood stores to survive.
Such traders are helping with advertising, with discounts in charged goods, etc., all of which are developing on the brand « My Store ».
The company reported that the franchise program was developing faster than expected. Exactly 1 year ago, the company announced that by the end of 2024 the sites under this brand would be 50. The plan was in 2025 under the brand « My Store » to open 250 stores, in 2026 – 480, and in 2027 – 800. Such a format will also be in Northwestern Bulgaria, where the trader has not been presented so far.
The neighborhood stores keep up with fashion
In practice, every owner of a small commercial site in the country with over 1000 residents, who is willing to develop and give a new look to their store, can become part of the program. The owners retain their independence and at the same time receive the three main ingredients for a successful grocery store – attractive promotions and advertising, a logical arrangement with updated vision, and additional preferential conditions.
In 10 years have closed 10,000 food stores that have failed to enter the 21st century
There is no information how many small ones would not survive on their own, but the data show that after entering the franchise program, they raised their turnover by 20%, which means that they grow 5 times faster than other traditional trade participants. According to Metro data, represented in November, over 10,000 stores have closed in the last 10 years.
Wholesaler
In the past financial year (01.10.2023 – 30.09.2024) « Metro Bulgaria » has sales for over BGN 1.2 billion and has achieved the highest real growth in its history of 10% (without inflation). The main engine of this turnover is business customers, which form over 60% of total sales, as well as the rapidly developing supply service. The « Get More, Save More » program (« level prices ») is also a significant contribution, which guarantees constantly competitive prices with discounts on quantity over 7,000 products, the company said.
Last year, 30% of sales came from the Horeka segment, and 50% of them benefited from the supplies of the wholesale company. Traditional stores have a share of about 30% of total sales, and the remaining 40% is kept by end consumers.
Executive. Director of the company in Bulgaria, Jean Kotten, reminded that since 2021 the company has returned to its main task of being a wholesaler. Today, the merchant is launching the « Live on Wholesale » campaign, the idea being that the discounts are much larger if more items of one kind are purchased. According to the company itself, they reach an average of 28% when shopping at least two items of type, which allows for a value to buy value that the retailers offer.
Kitten pointed out that the goal is to pricing the company to reduce the dependence of customers on promotions and to offer regularly low prices. In Bulgaria, consumers are particularly sensitive to the topic of promotions, and in retail sales the share of this type of shopping is 60-70%, Kitten said.
