pdf (22.8 MB) - METRO Group

METRO gROUP : ANNUAL REPORT 2011 : sTRATEgy
→ InTeRvIeW WITH THe CHaIRMan oF THe ManaGeMenT BoaRD
aCTing STraTegiCaLLy!
– TRAnSFoRm –
“I am more interested in
having a convincing concept.
The online stores of
Media Markt and Saturn are
now closely dovetailed with
their stationary business.”
goal of all activities must be to offer our
customers real added value. To be able
to respond to their needs, we must constantly
evolve: after all, no format lives
forever. In the end, it is the customer
who decides about success and failure
in retailing. We can and want to forcefully
meet this challenge, as well as
continuously hone our strong business
models to meet customer needs, including
with targeted innovations. Hand in hand
with this evolution goes a change in our
corporate culture: we intend to further
strengthen the entrepreneurial spirit of
our employees. They develop improvement
suggestions and ideas that further intensify
the Company’s focus on the customer.
The potential is huge here – we have already
put many good ideas into action.
Do you think Shape 2012 is on the road
to success since being introduced three
years ago?
olaf koch: Yes. We have begun to
make the transition from a heavily procurement­driven
business to a customer­
focused company. And we will continue to
move in this direction. After all, customer
focus must form the core of our identity as
a retail and wholesale company. We have
Long-Term VaLue CreaTion
also become much more efficient, and
have clear structures and a new attitude
about costs. But we are not where we want
to be in terms of productivity gains that
are needed to produce sustainable growth
on a like­for­like basis. For this purpose,
we must integrate entrepreneurial change
into METRO GROUP on a more intense,
long­term basis.
Sales and earnings have been rather
modest lately. In December 2011, you
even reduced your sales forecast.
olaf koch: This was an act of transparency.
The year of 2011 was a difficult one
for the trade and retail industry, and not
just for METRO GROUP. In many European
countries, consumers are very anxious
in view of the growing sovereign debt
crisis, high unemployment and austerity
programmes, developments that cause
them to cut back their spending. On top
of this, Christmas business was weak in
our largest market, Germany. After we
released our preliminary sales figures in
January, the capital markets rewarded us
for hitting our – albeit reduced – targets.
In 2010, the Metro share was one of the
top performers in the DAX 30. But any-
– CUSTomeR VAlUe –
TaKing a Far-SigHTeD VieW!
“The overarching goal must be
to offer our customers real
added value. To be able to
respond to their needs, we
must constantly evolve: after
all, no format lives forever.”
→ p. 026
body who invested in the Company’s
stock at the beginning of 2011 had suffered
nearly a 50 percent loss by the end
of the year. Does an investment in the
Company pay off?
olaf koch: One point is clear: the current
share price does not appropriately
reflect the value of METRO GROUP, much
less its potential. Our strategy is designed
for sustained sales and earnings growth.
A key element here is the Company’s continued
international expansion: in 2011,
we opened 100 new stores around the
world and created thousands of jobs in
the process. We must now demonstrate
that we can tap the huge potential that
METRO GROUP possesses.
On the other hand, your sustainability
strategy has been well received by capital
markets. METRO GROUP’s presence
in important indices has considerably
improved in recent years. What does this
mean for METRO GROUP?
olaf koch: The importance of these
indices has risen substantially in recent
years. When making their decisions, many
investors consider how sustainably a
company does business. The evaluation
processes related to these indices also