Metro plans to take its Praktiker DIY business into Bulgaria and its Media Markt/Saturn electricals operation into Greece.
The German giant has also received a licence for its first Makro cash and carry store in India.
Executive board chairman Dr Hans-Joachim Korber spoke of the plans at Deutsche Bank's food retail conference last week. He said that Praktiker's expansion into Bulgaria follows the successful push into Romania and continued consolidation in Germany.
Aggressive price-cutting has bolstered Praktiker's overall position.
'Our new pricing policy has strengthened the market position of Praktiker. We are starting to harvest the fruits of this effort,' said Korber.
'The position of Praktiker as a DIY discounter will be sharpened through extensive advertising campaigns this year,' he added.
Praktiker is to dispose of a further 10 underperforming stores in Germany this year, having got rid of 31 outlets in the country since 2000.
Metro is also to expand Media Markt/Saturn and will open 45 stores this year, with plans to enter Greece in 2004.
Korber said that Metro's first Indian Makro cash and carry outlet is likely to open later this year. Metro is also planning to enter the Ukraine in the second half of the year, and plans 45 Makro openings across Europe and Asia.
Metro Group generated sales of EUR51.5 billion (£35.75 billion) for 2002, with EBIT up 3.1 per cent to EUR1.17 billion (£812.3 million). Just over 60 per cent of Metro's EBIT comes from outside its home German market.
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