Europe’s largest retailer is targeting Turkey and Poland in a huge shopping centre drive
German company Metro, Europe’s biggest retailer, is set to roll out a huge programme of shopping centres in Turkey and Poland.
The group, through its property arm, MIH Metro Immobilien Holding, is planning 15 new Turkish projects and another six in Poland, all of around 40,000 m2 each between now and 2003.
MIH is already investing DM 3bn in Germany, Turkey and Poland together with Hungary, Italy and Greece, where a total of 30 large-scale schemes are being built; a further 66 developments are at the planning stage.
According to Krzysztof Latek, deputy general manager at Metro subsidiary CMG Polska: “We are targeting every town in Poland with a population over 200,000 people for a MIH centre.”
The group wants to build a second scheme in Warsaw and is targeting Krakow and Lódz Metro is opening three centres in Turkey next year, including ones in Adana and Gazientep.
The developments are being financed by a combination of Metro’s own money and loans from German commercial banks.
Metro, the world’s second largest retailer after Wal-Mart of the US, restructured this month to boost its ability to grow across Europe.
It sold businesses with DM 16bn in sales in a shake-up of its supermarket and shopping empire.
Deutsche Bank is leading a group of investors that will take over Metro’s Kaufhalle department stores, its Vobis and other computer shops, food and fashion interests.
These businesses are being merged into a new company called Divag, in which Metro will keep a stake of under 50% and is investing DM 350m. The moves will enable the operator to focus on four core business areas: cash-and-carry, hypermarkets and supermarkets, department stores and non-food specialist shops.
The restructuring does not affect MIH Metro Immobilien Holding.
