Constant own-brand growth at METRO

METRO's strategic focus on own brands is having an increasingly clear effect and has continued at the beginning of the financial year 2024/25. At 24.8%¹, the Group's own brand sales share in the first five months increased again significantly compared to last year (+2%) and 5 METRO national companies have already reached or exceeded the 30% mark in terms of own brand sales share: The leader is Spain with more than 38%, followed by Italy, Portugal, Croatia and France, which reached the 30% mark for the first time in Q1 2024/25. METRO Germany has also seen constant growth in its own brands and is hot on its heels. Behind the strong own brand sales are the three core brands METRO Chef, METRO Professional and aro, which together account for around 80% of own brand sales.

"Own brands are a core pillar of our sCore wholesale strategy. They are specially developed for the needs of our professional customers and offer them optimum value for money and reliable quality, especially in times of significantly increased overall costs in the hospitality sector. As a result, we have been able to increase our own-brand sales by more than €2 billion over the past two years thanks to Group-wide prioritisation. At the same time, we have increased the share of sales accounted for our own brands from 16% before the introduction of sCore to almost 25% - and are well on the way to achieving our target of over 35% by 2030. At the centre of this is a constantly evolving product portfolio that is consistently geared to the needs of our professional customers', says Dr Steffen Greubel, CEO of METRO AG.

¹ incl. FSD companies, METRO MARKETS, DISH

HoReCa customers and delivery are drivers of own brand

Looking at own brand sales by customer group, hotels, restaurants and caterers (HoReCa) are by far the most important customer group, and the trend continues to rise. In particular, the own brands METRO Chef for food and METRO Professional for non-food are specifically geared towards the needs of this customer group. In line with this, food service delivery (for gastronomy) is not only METRO's most important growth pillar, but also the fastest-growing sales channel for its own brands, with sales growth of over 20% compared to the previous year. However, own brand sales in the stores also continue to develop positively, and the stores remain the foundation for own brand sales at METRO.

Ultra-fresh and fresh products with the strongest growth rates

Looking at the individual categories, ultra-fresh and fresh products are the clear champions in terms of own brand sales, each with significant double-digit sales growth rates. Particularly meat & fish are important sales drivers, as these products are at the centre of gastronomic dishes. In the fresh category, dairy and frozen products are the most important growth drivers. The Frozen category also records the biggest overall own brand sales share, followed by non-food, with cooking and kitchen utensils, in particular.

Own brands as a central pillar of the sCore strategy

The clear focus on professional customers and their needs is a central component of METRO's sCore growth strategy. Own brands are particularly important in this context, as they not only stand for a strong price-performance promise as well as high quality and availability, but also differentiate METRO from the competition and create lasting customer loyalty. Before an own brand product goes into production, Quality Assurance teams together with professional Chefs are extensively tasting and testing the products, making sure they fit to the needs of professional kitchens. In addition, the products are continuously refined and adapted to offer customers optimum added value and convenience.

METRO's own-brand range comprises several thousand items across all product groups and caters to the different needs of professional customers. METRO Chef is by far METRO's largest own brand and stands for food products in A-brand quality. METRO Professional offers non-food and near-food for professional needs. The reliable, durable and high-performance range of kitchen accessories, cooking utensils and kitchen appliances as well as textiles offers optimal equipment for the hospitality sector. aro covers basic catering needs with a very good price-performance ratio. In addition to food, the range also includes household goods and drugstore items. Moreover, METRO's own brands include METRO Premium, Fine Life, Rioba, Tarrington House and Sigma.

METRO is a leading international food wholesaler specialising in the needs of hotels, restaurants and caterers (HoReCa) as well as independent retailers (Trader). The more than 15 million METRO customers worldwide benefit from the wholesaler's unique multi-channel mix: customers can procure their goods both in one of the large-area stores on site and via delivery (Food Service Distribution, FSD) - all digitally supported and networked. At the same time, METRO MARKETS is an international online marketplace for the needs of professional customers that has been growing and expanding continuously since 2019. 'Acting sustainably' is one of the company's principles; METRO is listed in the sustainability indices and rankings MSCI, Sustainalytics and CDP, among others. METRO is active in over 30 countries and employs more than 85,000 people worldwide. In the financial year 2023/24, METRO generated sales of €31 billion.

More information at MPULSE.de, our online magazine.