METRO increased collaboration in the quickly expanding e-grocery business
In August of 2020, METRO and Kok, a company that specialises in online grocery shopping, began working closely together in the Czech Republic.
The distributor has allocated a space of 170 square metres within its MAKRO store in Ceske Budejovice for Kok logistics, and it provides an assortment of around 16,000 products for Kok’s online grocery shopping operation. After some time, the idea was adopted by MAKRO stores in the cities of Brno,
Ostrava, Olomouc, and Zln. In June of 2021, a partnership of this kind was initiated at the METRO shop in Sofia, which is located in Bulgaria. METRO and Kok have come to the conclusion that they should work together even more closely as a result of their previous successful relationship.
METRO has been awarded a 25% share in Kok as payment for offering full access to METRO’s sourcing capabilities and retail network as an exclusive condition for the purchasing and logistics infrastructure.
If Kok and METRO work together to bring their products and services to more Central or Eastern European markets, Kok’s stake in the company might climb to as much as 30 percent.
“The deal that METRO has reached with Kok is consistent with its sCore wholesale strategy and will help us move closer to achieving our growth goals. Our sourcing connections with one of our most important partners in the rapidly expanding eGrocery business are currently undergoing a period of consolidation and
institutionalisation. eGrocery companies perform the function of local food supply, which is analogous to our core customer target group of traders but instead of small stores supported by a digital platform and last mile logistics. eGrocery businesses are comparable to our target group of customers who are traders. Our sole responsibility in this partnership is to offer both the necessary food and the necessary infrastructure.
Our teams will be able to maintain their complete concentration on the wholesale business because the seasoned management team at Kok will continue to solely be responsible for managing the company’s consumer business “Rafael Gasset, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of METRO AG, explains the situation as follows:
Kok is an e-grocery company that solely sells its products online. It was established in 2015 and currently has services in both the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. Its main fulfilment centre is located in Prague. Same-day delivery is available starting at 2 hours (full range) for orders placed before that time, and next-day delivery is also available.
The business today has 190,000 clients across the Czech Republic, and each day it processes approximately 6,000 orders to satisfy those clients. EC Investments, sometimes known as ECI, is the company that holds the bulk of Kok’s shares.
METRO is a renowned international food wholesale company that specialises in meeting the requirements of independent merchants as well as the demands of the HoReCa industry (hotels, restaurants, and caterers) (Traders).
Around the world, METRO has around 17 million consumers who take advantage of the distinctive multichannel mix that the wholesale company offers. Customers have the option of purchasing the items they need at one of the large stores located in their vicinity or having them delivered by a company called Food Service Distribution (FSD),
both of which are equipped with digital assistance and connection. At the same time, METRO MARKETS is a global online marketplace for business clients that has been consistently developing and increasing since the year 2019. METRO, which has been listed in a variety of sustainability indices and rankings for a number of years, including FTSE4Good,
MSCI, CDP, and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, considers acting in a sustainable manner to be one of the firm’s guiding company principles. METRO is a global retailer that has operations in over 30 countries and employs more than 93,000 people. During the fiscal year 2021/22 for METRO, the company’s sales totaled €29.8 billion. Additional details can be obtained at the following website:MPULSE.de, our online magazine.
