Metro Cash & Carry to expand to 8 more cities

German retailing giant Metro Cash & Carry is currently holding discussions for acquisition of properties in over eight cities "� Chennai, Ghaziabad, Delhi, Gurgaon, Pune, Coimbatore, Vijayawada and Viskhapatnam "� to launch its distribution centres.

"We are now keen to expand quickly across the country," Metro Cash & Carry India Managing Director Harsh Bahadur said, adding that 35 Indian cities with over one million population are the company's target. Besides the cost of land, each distribution centre involves an investment of around Rs 65 crore.

The wholesale company opened its first distribution centre in Andhra Pradesh and the third in the country here on Wednesday.

Bahadur said the company is about to sign acquisition deals in Delhi, Ghaziabad, Gurgoan and Chennai. Its Kolkata and Mumbai distribution centres, which are currently under construction, would be ready by the second quarter of the next year.

Spread over an area of 7 acre, the Rs 67 crore B2B distribution centre in Hyderabad has a selling space of 1 lakh sq ft including a 20,000 sq ft temperature-controlled space to handle perishables, such as vegetables, fruits, dairy, meat and fish. It has a range of 18,000 products. The share of local products is 98 per cent.

The land has been allotted on a 30 year lease to the company by the Andhra Pradesh government. The centre is expected to provide direct employment to 300 people and indirect employment to over 250 people.

Stating that the Hyderabad centre is expected to gross a turnover of up to Rs 300 crore per annum, Bahadur said about 75,000 small and medium retailers, traders, hoteliers, caterers and other businesses had already been registered with the distribution outlet as customers.