SHANGHAI, Oct. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Bustling with life and filled with jubilant atmosphere, METRO China is unveiling its new Cash & Carry store concept at its Pudong store on October 15. The new concept upgrades services to enhance customer experience and increase relevance for professional customers and independent businesses. Meanwhile, the company today also hosted the final of 2014 Canteen Chef Competition and the award ceremony of Entrepreneur Star, bringing its two national events to an exciting climax.
"This October marks the 50th anniversary of METRO Group. The Cash & Carry model enjoys a track record of success and is one of METRO China's five focus channels to sustain or even accelerate growth. With the launch of the new Cash & Carry store concept, we aim to further tap into the potential of the strategic channel by providing upgraded services and a welcoming environment for our target customer groups," said Jeroen de Groot, President of METRO China.
"As part of the 50th Anniversary celebrations, we launched the METRO China Canteen Chef Competition, aiming to help enhance the competitiveness of our core target customers - canteens. The METRO China Entrepreneur Star Awards, is designed to pay tribute to business owners with strong entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to the community," added Mr. De Groot. "All our celebrations this year are meant to strengthen ties with our target customers and help them to be more competitive, as we know we win only when our customers win."
Innovative Cash & Carry Upgrades Offer Customized Services
Based on METRO's in-depth customer insight, the wholesaler has applied its new Cash & Carry store concept at its Pudong store to upgrade services. The "METRO Cafe," a new area for customer interaction, provides a comfortable environment, free self-help coffee and computers/printers, which enable customers to check e-mails and product information as well as to print orders. The "METRO Welfare & Gifting Showroom" displays various welfare/gift offerings by METRO, and has professional sales personnel to recommend tailored welfare/gift solutions for the customers through one-to-one service.
"Inspiration Corner" mainly serves as a communication platform where cooking demonstrations and workshops will be held for professional customers and culinary experts in HoReCa industry to exchange experiences and knowledges. METRO's "Express Delivery", a fast and convenient delivery service, provides same-day delivery for the customers who have purchased at the store.
To help customers locate products more easily, METRO has optimized its product assortment in the sales areas, particularly in the non-food and import food sections. METRO also offers complementary, store-wide Wi-Fi coverage for all customers to enjoy free internet access.
Strengthening Core Customer Relationships, METRO Hosts Canteen Chef Competition Final
Today, METRO also hosted the final rounds of its 2014 Canteen Chef Competition at its Pudong Store in Shanghai, awarding Zhang Qing from Shanghai first place for his impressive performance.
Attracting over 200 canteen chefs from across China in the past over four months, the competition brought together 24 regional finalists to compete in the final rounds in Shanghai. In addition to the champion Master Canteen Chef, runners-up also received recognition for participating, in acknowledgement of their exceptional culinary skills and deep understanding of healthy foods and cost management.
As part of METRO's commitment to enhancing core HoReCa customers' competitiveness, the 2014 METRO Canteen Chef Competition - the first of its kind in China - enables canteen chefs nationwide to take part in inspiring culinary experiences, encouraging them to create a wider variety of more flavorful, safe, and fresh dishes. Unlike other culinary competitions that emphasize creativity and elaborate presentation, the Canteen Chef Competition requires contestants to use everyday seasonings and ingredients to prepare Chinese canteen-style dishes within an hour and forty-five minutes. Cost-control and environmentally-friendly practices are the primary evaluation criteria, in line with METRO's core values.
METRO's Entrepreneur Star Awards Celebrate Entrepreneurship
As part of its 50th Anniversary celebration program, METRO China hosted the Entrepreneur Star Awards, a nationwide competition seeking to honor achievements in entrepreneurship and social responsibility. Since launching in May, the Awards have attracted 79 submissions from 17 provinces and autonomous regions, as well as nearly 40,000 online votes.
Today, METRO awarded first place to Mum's Restaurant, a famous Changchun restaurant, after more than four months of online voting and joint selection by a jury panel. Known for its delicious home-style meals, Mum's Restaurant is also committed to fulfilling its social responsibilities and caring for disadvantaged groups. Galaxy Restaurant and Shanghai Gaodong Clothing Manufacturing Co., Ltd. won the second and third place respectively for their outstanding dedication to entrepreneurship and social responsibility. Guoguo Mutton Soup Restaurant received overwhelming support online, wining METRO's Special Prize on Online Votes.
Since the company's establishment, METRO has been committed to providing entrepreneurs with professional services and supporting their continued growth. Both METRO and entrepreneurs share a passion for business, a dedication to innovation, and a strong service focus - all values that lay a solid foundation for mutual success.
About METRO Cash & Carry
METRO Cash & Carry is represented in 28 countries with over 750 self-service wholesale stores. With a headcount of about 110,000 employees worldwide, the wholesale company achieved sales of about € 32 billion in the financial year 2012/2013. METRO Cash & Carry is a sales division of METRO GROUP. METRO GROUP is one of the largest and most important international retailing companies. During the financial year 2012/13 (pro forma), it generated sales of about EUR 66 billion. The company operates around 2,200 stores in 31 countries and has a headcount of around 250,000 employees. The performance of METRO GROUP is based on the strength of its sales brands that operate independently in their respective market segments: METRO/MAKRO Cash & Carry - the international leader in self-service wholesale - Media Markt and Saturn - the European market leader in consumer electronics retailing - Real hypermarkets and Galeria Kaufhof department stores.
More information at: www.metrogroup.de
Profile of METRO China
In 1996, METRO Cash & Carry, the international leader in self-service wholesale, opened its first wholesale store in the international metropolis of Shanghai. The company was among the first to gain permission from the China Central Government to set up chain operations in all major cities in China. Over the last decade, the company has set its foot already in 54 cities with 78 outlets in operation in China. With a headcount of over 11,000 employees, the wholesaler is serving more than 3.5 million buying customers across the country.
More information at: www.metro.com.cn
Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20141016/0861407467-a
Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20141016/0861407467-b
