Wumart Group will hold 80% of the shares in the joint venture established by the two parties, and Metro will continue to hold 20% of the shares.
Editor’s note: This article is from the WeChat public account “Linked supermarket home” ( ID: chaoshirenzhijia), the author of the Associated Network editorial department.
On October 11, Metro Group, Wumart Group and Dodge Dmall jointly announced that Wumart has signed a definitive agreement with Metro Group for the acquisition of Metro China.
Lianshang.com understands that after the transaction is completed, Wumart Group will hold 80% of the shares in the joint venture established by the two parties, Metro will continue to hold 20% of the shares, and more will become Metro’s China technology partner. .
The value behind Medron
Metro is a 55-year-old European veteran retailer who entered China in 1996 and currently has 97 stores in 58 cities in China, 44 of which are located in East China.
Metro’s customers are mainly B-end customers such as units and small and medium-sized enterprises, and the stickiness is high. Together with the membership policy, Metro has an advantage in the B-end.
Metro Long China President Kant said that 40% of Metro’s sales come from professional B2B sales.
In addition, Metro has the advantage of supply chain and procurement capabilities. As a 55-year-old multinational company, Metro has more than 760 wholesale stores and food distribution operations in 35 countries around the world.
This means that Metro has a relatively complete global supply chain with strong purchasing power and low operating costs, and can provide customers with low-priced and high-quality goods.
At the same time, it is worth noting that unlike other foreign-funded enterprises, Metro is not renting a facade in China, but insisting on buying land. The value of the property it has purchased has been turned over several times.
What does union mean?
Wumei is one of the earliest and largest supermarket chains in China. It has more than 1,000 hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience stores and home shopping malls. Annual sales of more than 500 million yuan. In the fast-changing and fiercely competitive market, Wumart continues to improve its retail management and integration capabilities with comprehensive digitalization.
Wumei has a successful experience in M&A integration, including B&Q China’s B&Q China’s implementation after the transactionTurning losses into profits, as well as Xinhua Department Store, Lotte Mart North China and some state-owned retail enterprises.
Dr. Zhang Wenzhong, founder of Wumei Group and chairman of Multi-Dmall, said: “We are very pleased to invest in Metro China to consolidate and develop our partnership. We highly respect the famous brand of Metro. For 23 years, Metro China has always been committed to Providing high-quality, high-standard foods with leading market position and excellent reputation. We share a common philosophy with Metro, and we firmly adhere to food safety and product quality.
We use digital technology to lead retail development, deepen the local market, and have professional success in promoting international brands. Therefore, we firmly believe that Wumei is the ideal partner of Metro, and will fully utilize Metro’s great potential to provide better service to customers.
Metrolong China will benefit from the procurement and benefit from the procurement of the Group and the multi-point Dmall to better obtain local fresh products, thus providing customers with more high-quality products.
Metrolong China will continue to operate independently under the “Metro” brand, and the new joint venture headquarters will remain in the current Putuo District of Shanghai.
The new joint venture will maintain the current store size and all commercial operations, while continuing to implement the planned new store development. In addition to retaining the current management team led by Kant, the joint venture will retain its existing team of employees. The Metro Group will receive two seats in the board of directors of the new joint venture company and will continue to play a role in the governance of the joint venture.
In addition, a dedicated quality control committee led by a representative of the Metro Group will also be fully involved to monitor and ensure that the joint venture continues to meet Metro’s global standards in terms of quality and operational standards.
Wumei Group will further enhance Metro China’s operational efficiency and optimize customers’ shopping experience through multi-point Dmall’s proprietary operating system, helping Metro China to enhance its digital capabilities and accelerate its development in the Chinese retail market.
Kant: Don’t close the store without layoffs
After the METRO acquisition event came to an end, Metro China President Kant published an internal letter to employees.
In the internal letter, Kant said that after several months of hard work and negotiations, Metro Group and Wumei Technology Group reached a final agreement to establish a strategic joint venture. According to the agreement, Wumart Group will eventually hold 80% of the shares in the joint venture after all relevant transactions are completed, and Metro Group will hold 20% of the shares. Metro’s existing minority shareholders have also acknowledged the transaction and intend to sell their current holdings of a total of 10% through another independent process.
He believes that the new joint venture will open a new chapter for Metro China to continue to play a leading position in the market, while also accelerating Metro’s “new retail” transformation for professional customers (such as FSD and W&G) brings higherQuality of service.
The METRO Group has been deeply involved in the Chinese market for 23 years. The success behind it is inseparable from the hard work of everyone. Kant believes that the new strategic partnership will overweight Metro’s strength and bring many new value growth points to Metro China, including improved procurement capabilities and supply chain, more competitive import and local products, and more customers. Local supplier.
At the same time, the stake held by the Metro Group in the capital-funded company will also ensure that it continues to provide all wholesale and retail customers with the same high quality service and a rich, high quality and safe product portfolio.
The most important thing is that the stability of Metro’s existing organization, operations and services will remain unchanged.
This means that the joint venture will retain the current management team and maintain the current number of employees. Metro China does not have any layoff plans, all employee benefit plans remain unchanged, Shanghai Putuo will continue to be the headquarters of Metro China, the joint venture will Maintaining the current store network will not close any stores, the store plan will remain unchanged, and all customer loyalty programs and interests will remain unchanged.
This cooperation will open up a new path for Metro China’s consumers, employees and business partners. Metro China will continue to write success stories in China.
After several months of hard work and negotiation, Metro Group and Wumei Technology Group reached a final agreement to establish a strategic joint venture. According to the agreement, Wumart Group will eventually hold 80% of the shares in the joint venture after all relevant transactions are completed, and Metro Group will hold 20% of the shares. Metro’s existing minority shareholders have also acknowledged the transaction and intend to sell their current holdings of a total of 10% through another independent process.