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The METRO Group, the world's third-largest retailing and trade group, announced on Wednesday that it will open its first cash-and-carry store in Beijing at the end of June, after opening 29 stores during its decade in the Chinese market.

The store, which is located in the capital's northwest Haidian district, will cover a business area of 9,000 square metres and offer a range of national, local and international food and non-food products.

The cash-and-carry wholesaler will sell products of various packaging sizes based on the different needs of its customer groups.

The company develops its own brands and also sells imported articles. Hugo de Geest, METRO's North China business unit manager, said this allows customers to get the best value for their money in the market.

Company officials said that the Beijing outlet is in the final stage of preparation, and it is due to open at the end of June. The exact date will be announced within a couple of weeks.

The firm started recruiting employees for the outlet late last year, so as to ensure the store is fully staffed when it opens.

Jean-Luc Tuzes, president of METRO Jinjiang Cash & Carry Co Ltd, said Beijing has huge market potential, and METRO is expected to open five to six outlets in the city in the next five years.

"Most probably, the second store in the city will be launched this year," the president revealed to China Daily.

He admitted that METRO is a bit late in entering the market, but he said the firm is seeking a profitable growth, instead of the number of outlets.

"So far, we have 23 stores, which have opened for more than one year, and all of them make profits," he said.

"We have to be very cautious with the initial investment of new stores, which is essential to cut the overall cost, and therefore gives real benefit to our customers," Tuzes said.

He said the maximum investment, including land purchasing, of each store is 150 million yuan (US$18.7 million). Each store should have a business area of around 10,000 square metres.

"We want to find the right location, which takes time," he said.

Tuzes says METRO is dedicated to the prosperity of China's trading industry.

Over 90 per cent of the products in METRO China stores are sourced from local manufacturers and suppliers.

Each year, the company directly and indirectly sources around 2 billion euros (US$2.44 billion) worth of products from China for sale through its global sales network.

According to METRO's financial report released on Wednesday, the cash-and-carry business exceeded 28 billion euros (US$34.11 billion) in the last fiscal year, up by 6.2 per cent.

In China, its revenues hit 7.55 billion yuan (US$941.40 million) last year, and it had 7,000 employees.

(China Daily March 24, 2006)