pdf (22.8 MB) - METRO Group

METRO GROUP : ANNUAL REPORT 2011 : STRATEGy
→ sTRaTeGIC posITIonInG oF MeTRo GRoUp : GaleRIa KaUFHoF
internet and department store are
close partners
since 2000, customers of Galeria Kaufhof have also been able
to order products online. Up to now, though, the range was
limited to selected products. In october 2011, the sales division
began to offer fashion and accessories – the products with the
largest share of sales in the department stores – in a completely
remodelled online shop at www.galeria-kaufhof.de. In
taking this step, it nearly doubled the number of products
available online. Through this approach, Galeria Kaufhof not
only enables its customers to enjoy its usual wide variety of
products, but also provides them with the opportunity to take
advantage of the items and services in a stationary or virtual
department store. as a result, customers can have their
orders delivered directly to a store or return them there. products
not in stock at the department store can be ordered online
from there and delivered to the customer. This multichannel
marketing is an important element of Galeria Kaufhof’s effort
to provide current and future customers with a contemporary
shopping experience and to cultivate their loyalty to the sales
division. The expansion of multichannel services is planned.
The brand for style and lifestyle
The sales division’s customers expect the Galeria Kaufhof
brand to provide them with inspiration for their personal lifestyles.
For this reason, the sales division continued its partnership
with Wolfgang Joop in 2011. The star designer joined
a creative team consisting of employees from the functional
areas of marketing, procurement and sales to develop new
concepts that speak to customers on an emotional level. a
highlight of the partnership during the reporting year was the
“GaleRIa 1879” collection designed by Wolfgang Joop. The
clothing and accessories were available on a limited basis in
department stores beginning in september 2011 and generated
large sales volumes. With the collection, whose name
refers to the year that Kaufhof was established, the sales
division demonstrated its skills in terms of style and lifestyle
once again.
sportarena: independent formats
In March 2011, the sportarena sales format introduced a new
store concept for selling space measuring between 400 and
500 square metres: “Wanderzeit” offers functional clothing
made by well-known brands like Jack Wolfskin, The north
Face, schöffel and Meindl as well as accessories, including
backpacks, water bottles, map material and Gps systems.
During the reporting year, sportarena opened three “Wanderzeit”
stores in aalen, neuss and Hamburg. The concept is
to be introduced at other stores in 2012.
Dinea: more fresh products
Today, every sixth customer of Galeria Kaufhof drops by the
Dinea restaurants located in the store. To meet customers’
growing standard regarding healthy food, freshness and
preparation, the service company began to test a new concept
at stores in Frankfurt am Main and at “Main-Taunus-Zentrum”
shopping centre in 2011: the food is cooked right in front of the
customers’ eyes. over the medium term, Dinea sees potential
for implementing this concept in about 10 to 15 department
stores. Individual components of the concept will also be
introduced in the other restaurants.
Continuous optimisation
→ p. 054
Galeria Kaufhof regularly analyses market conditions and
the environment in which the department stores do business.
applying this approach, the sales division also optimised
its store portfolio during the reporting year and
adapted it to local market and customer requirements. In
February 2011, Galeria Kaufhof closed the store in leipzigpaunsdorf.
When leases expire in mid-2012, the sales
div ision will also close department stores in Gießen,
Cologne-Kalk, nuremberg-aufseßplatz and oberhausen’s
city centre. In recent years, market trends have turned
nega tive in these areas, and these department stores offer
no long-term potential to be operated profitably.
at Galeria Kaufhof, employees of all functional areas are
devising measures designed to further improve internal
processes and systems to create more value for the customer.
as part of the outlets’ concentration on local needs, a
trend that will remain a high priority in future years, systematic
support of the planning process will become
increasingly important. For this reason, Galeria Kaufhof
began to introduce a new planning system for the product
range in 2011. With the help of this system, the sales division
can use inventory and movement data to spot trends. as a
result, specific management information can be generated
and measures developed from it. The rollout is scheduled to
be completed in 2012.