With more than 8,000 grocery shops under various local brands across 9 countries, METRO has been building up diverse franchise networks over the past decade to empower its small independent retail customers (Trader) in the face of organized retail. Compared to the classic franchise concept, METRO’s Trader customers in the respective national franchise networks still maintain their operational and financial independence while benefiting from customized services METRO provides such as marketing campaigns, assortment offers or digital integration. By this, evaluation shows that the relationship between METRO and its franchise partners is effectively strengthened with much higher buying frequency and average purchase amounts compared to ordinary Trader customers.
As part of METRO’s sCore growth strategy, expanding the franchise solutions with more added value for Trader customers to further elevate their operational quality and efficiency while enhancing the overall shopping experience for their customers is now gaining new momentum. The basis is a franchise-optimised assortment as well as pricing particularly leveragsing METRO’s own brand line Fine Life to help secure the profitability and competitiveness of the franchisees. Moreover, a modern retail shop format with professionally designed layout is currently being introduced and adopted by an increasing number of shops, both existing franchise partners and new members attracted to the community. Being more than just a shop refurbishment, one of the focuses is the implementation of the convenience character such as “ready food” or branded coffee corner, to shape the shop more dynamic and responsive to their end customer’s needs.
“The key is to provide our customers with the right services and right solutions so that they see the value for being part of our franchisee. And we are gaining value through this loyalty,” says Daniel Quest, Senior Vice President of METRO AG responsible for franchise, in a recent podcast about METRO‘s franchise strategy. To boost customer loyalty, METRO has also set up a “Convenience Academy” situated in Warsaw to enhance knowledge and share expertise among its own franchise-focused customer managers, who visit individual franchisees regularly to provide tailored consulting on site.
Furthermore, METRO offers a range of digital solutions to ensure franchise shops catch up with the digitalisation that raises their efficiency at low cost. As an example, a dedicated online shop is running to enable Trader customers to order with and get delivery from METRO. Additionally, franchise network’s digital presence is boosted with websites as well as mobile apps that connect shops closely with the community. And last but not least, a selection of EPOS solutions are being installed to help the shop owner improve operational productivity.
Source: METRO AG
