Metro closes consumer electronics branch in China

BERLIN - German retailer giant Metro announced on Wednesday that it had decided to end the operation of its Media Markt stores in China.

The group's wholesale business would not be affected, it added.

Media Markt, consumer electronics subsidiary of Metro Group's Media-Saturn Holdings, entered into China in 2010, when it opened its first Chinese flagship store in Shanghai. Currently, Media Markt China was jointly operated by Metro Group and Foxconn Technology Group.

Metro Group said in a statement that the decision to discontinue its business operations in Media-Markt China "was prompted by the experiences and forecasts deriving from the two-year test phase that expired at the end of December (2012)."

"After carefully analyzing all alternatives, we have decided not to continue our business activities," said Olaf Koch, Chairman of the Management Board of Metro Group.

Koch said it was an essential measure for his company to "concentrate on those business units and markets where we can clearly sharpen our profile and build up a strong market position."

"We will further intensify our successful commitment to METRO Cash & Carry in China. The country is key and a promising market with good future prospects for our wholesale business," he said.

Metro opened 12 wholesale stores in China in 2012.

Also on Wednesday, Metro Group announced that its sales in the last quarter of 2012 increased by 0.5 percent from a year earlier to 19.4 billion euros ($25.8 billion). For the whole year of 2012, Metro sales was up by 1.2 percent to 66.7 billion euros.

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