METRO GROUP and real,- present the future of shopping in Toenisvorst, Germany
In Toenisvorst, METRO GROUP and real,- will be breaking new ground in addressing customers as well as in store design and assortment mix. Modern checkout processes will further raise convenience in the checkout area. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) will also play a key role at the real,- Future Store. This technology for automatic product identification will contribute to rendering quality management even more efficient.
Innovation leader in the retail sector
"For us, technologies and new concepts are the key to meeting the changing demands of our customers also in the future", said Dr. Gerd Wolfram, Managing Director of MGI METRO GROUP Information Technology GmbH. "At the real,- Future Store we are bundling numerous innovations in a complex system and testing which ones are actually accepted by the customers. As one of the leading international retailing companies we thereby provide decisive impulses for the entire industry".
METRO GROUP will successively roll out those concepts or technologies that stand the test to the stores and outlets of its sales brands. "For us, the participation in the Future Store is not an end in itself but it involves an economic benefit", explains Joël Saveuse, member of the Management Board of METRO GROUP and CEO of real,-. "In a highly competitive market we can only differentiate ourselves from our competitors through innovations and thereby win over customers for real,-".
Strong partnership
The measures to convert the hypermarket in Toenisvorst, near Duesseldorf to the real,- Future Store have already been largely completed. For the development and implementation of the new technologies and concepts METRO GROUP was able to draw on the know-how of the Future Store Initiative. This initiative founded by the METRO GROUP in 2002 now comprises around 85 partners from the consumer goods and IT industries, the services sector and the scientific world, including SAP, Intel, IBM, T-Systems and Cisco.
Technologies for practical application
With the real,- Future Store the METRO GROUP is continuing a success story. Already back in 2003 the retail company had opened a Future Store in Rheinberg near Duesseldorf. The company has rolled out many technologies tested in this store to the outlets of its sales brands including novelties such as the Smart Scales that automatically identify fruit and vegetables as well as the self-checkouts where the customers can scan their purchases on their own.
Contact
Antonia Voerste
Head of Communications & Public Affairs
MGI METRO GROUP Information Technology
Metro-Straße 12
40235 Duesseldorf
Phone: +49 211 6886 2869
Fax: +49 211 6886 2000
E-mail: voerste@metro.de
Head of Communications & Public Affairs
MGI METRO GROUP Information Technology
Metro-Straße 12
40235 Duesseldorf
Phone: +49 211 6886 2869
Fax: +49 211 6886 2000
E-mail: voerste@metro.de
Albrecht von Truchseß
Head of Corporate Communications
Real SB-Warenhaus GmbH
Reyerhuette 51
41065 Moenchengladbach
Phone: +49 2161 403 880
Fax: +49 2161 403 222
E-mail: truchsess@real.de
Head of Corporate Communications
Real SB-Warenhaus GmbH
Reyerhuette 51
41065 Moenchengladbach
Phone: +49 2161 403 880
Fax: +49 2161 403 222
E-mail: truchsess@real.de
METRO GROUP is one of the most important international retailing companies. In 2007 the group reached sales of about € 64 billion. The company has a headcount of some 280,000 employees and operates over 2,200 outlets in 31 countries. The operating business is performed by the sales brands which operate independently in the market: Metro/Makro Cash & Carry – world market leader in cash & carry wholesale – Real hypermarkets, Media Markt and Saturn – market leader in consumer electronics centers in Europe – and Galeria Kaufhof department stores.
Real SB-Warenhaus GmbH is a sales brand of METRO GROUP. Real is synonym for a large variety of brand products, high fresh produce competence and an attractive price-performance ratio. In fiscal year 2007 the company generated sales of € 11 billion (excluding Extra). Real operates 350 large selling space hypermarkets in Germany and another 85 stores in Poland, Romania, Russia and Turkey.
