BERLIN — Sharpening the earnings-oriented focus of its international cash & carry business, the Metro Group has divested its Greek wholesale subsidiary Makro Cash & Carry.
Metro said the package of nine stores and the relevant real estate portfolio have been sold to the local retail group Sklavenitis for a value of €65 million, or $80.6 million at current exchange. Metro said it expects the deal to yield a neutral EBIT effect for fiscal 2014/15.
This fall, Metro Cash & Carry pulled out of Denmark, citing saturated market conditions and insufficient growth potential. The German cash & carry, department store, hypermarket and electronics retail group said it aims to focus on those markets where it has critical mass and a relevant market position upon which to develop a long-term growth perspective. “In Greece, we would unfortunately not have been able to do so on our own in the years to come,” stated Olaf Koch, chairman of the management board of Metro AG and CEO of Metro Cash & Carry.
Operating 766 stores in over 30 countries, Metro Cash & Carry generated like-for-like sales of 30.5 billion euros, or $41.4 billion in fiscal 2013/14 (ending September 30, 2104.)