MORE Podcast

The METRO's highway to growth is called Food Service Distribution (FSD). In the past financial year, we have already stepped on the gas here and increased our delivery sales to almost €8 billion – that is already more than a quarter of METRO's total sales. But what is behind this success? In addition to METRO's own delivery service, specialised delivery services play a decisive role. These culinary experts serve specific customer segments – from fine dining to large-scale gastronomy – and are also on a growth path. In our new episode of our MORE Podcast, I talk to Julius Osthues, Vice President FSD Portfolio Management at METRO AG, and we take a closer look at these ‘specialists' and their role in METRO's FSD strategy. What makes them so special? How do they differ? And what can each learn from the other? You can only find out here in the MORE Podcast!

METRO has declared 2025 the 'Year of Own Brand'. Everyone in the company is now called upon to activate their superpowers to further increase the sales share of METRO Chef, Aro, Sigma and Co. Want to know what it takes? Then follow me into the world of METRO's own brands in our latest episode of MORE Podcast. Together with Jens Bresler, responsible for own brand management at METRO since 2022, we will give you an understanding of our own brand strategy to achieve our sCore goals. Jens reveals how they not only help to differentiate the company, but also strengthen customer loyalty. He also gives us an exciting insight into the 'Year of Own Brand' campaign. And to wrap it up, Jens presents us with his Sound Souvenir, which activates his own extra powers. An episode like a superhero comic, full of great insights that you don't want to miss!

Welcome back to MORE Podcast! After a short break, we are back with a very special episode: We take you to the METRO Leadership Summit 2024, where our top leaders discussed the current status and latest developments of our sCore strategy. Experience our CEO Steffen Greubel reflecting on the past financial year and launching the ‘Year of the Own Brand'. Hear CFO Eric Riegger speak about our ambitious growth targets and the cost leadership that is needed to achieve them. And be inspired by COO Christiane Giesen and CCMO Guillaume Deruyter, who emphasise the importance of collaboration and team spirit and present the key priorities for the further implementation of sCore. Look forward to exciting insights, inspiring messages and, last but not least, my personal Sound Souvenir!

Welcome back to MORE Podcast – Wholesale to the Max, the podcast where you can find out everything you need to know about the implementation of our sCore strategy. I'm really excited to be talking about our growth strategy again soon with our great colleagues – from both a professional and personal perspective. New episodes will be dropping from mid-January, so make sure you're subscribed for exclusive insights from the latest Leadership Summit, updates on the 'Year of Own Brand', and many more interesting sCore topics. Stay tuned for the next episodes and I'm really looking forward to getting started with you again!

METRO's own brands are of crucial importance to us in achieving our sCore targets. For METRO's non-food assortment, they are set to become the growth driver par excellence. In this area, the sales share of our own brands is expected to grow to an incredible 70 percent by 2030! In the latest episode of MORE Podcast, I talk to Michael Ciesielski, Senior Vice President Non-food METRO AG and CEO of METRO Sourcing, about how we at METRO want to achieve this ambitious goal. He is convinced: "With our non-food assortment we differentiate ourselves from the competition for our customers". How important METRO's e-commerce business is in this context and how Michael brings our METRO Fundamentals to life in his daily work is what you will find out in this episode. Have fun listening!

MAKRO Poland has been on the market for a proud 30 years, reason enough to talk about it. In my interview with the CEO of MAKRO Poland, Dominik Branny, you can find out what market position our colleagues there have achieved during this time and, above all, what growth targets they have set themselves as part of our sCore strategy up to 2030. In addition to all the business topics, we also get to know Dominik personally. What is important to him in his job, but also in life? And of course, his Sound Souvenir should not be missing in this episode either. Like all my guests, Dominik brings us a sound that inspires him, motivates him or reminds him of something special. Let yourself be surprised and look forward to great stories in this episode of MORE Podcast!

Here's the latest dish from METRO's MORE Podcast kitchen! I'm serving you a great menu with everything your heart desires: fish, meat and fruit & vegetables - in other words, the Ultra-Fresh assortments at METRO and MAKRO. Join me and my guest, Emmanuel Langdorf, Vice President Global Ultra-Fresh Management at METRO AG, on a tour through the METRO wholesale store in Düsseldorf. And find out what impact changing customer behaviour and climate change have on our sourcing at METRO and how we still manage to keep product availability, quality and prices stable. Enjoy the new episode, everything is 100% home-made and cooked with love!

How do we convince our customers to purchase more and more often at METRO? In the latest edition of MORE Podcast, I talk to Gilles Babikian, Vice President Sales Excellence at METRO AG, about our sCore strategy and the development of our global sales organisation. He reveals how our multichannel approach gives our customers the choice via which channels they want to purchase our products and how we are transforming from a pure product supplier to a partnership-based solution provider. You will also get to know Gilles personally and find out what Sound Souvenir he has brought us. Have fun listening!

Trust, understanding and knowing your partner's needs - that's what makes a good relationship. What counts in life naturally also applies to a stable business relationship. In this episode of MORE Podcast, I talk to Tino Hölters, Head of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) at METRO AG, about how METRO uses a variety of data to provide its customers with the best possible support. You can also find out how CRM is playing a key role in shaping the future of wholesale, as well as the challenges and exciting steps METRO still has ahead of it on the road to optimising customer relationships. Have fun listening!

Can METRO achieve the goals of its sCore strategy and be a responsible and sustainable company at the same time? A clear "yes" is the answer given by Ivonne Bollow, Senior Vice President Corporate Responsibility & Public Policy at METRO AG, in this episode of MORE Podcast. In fact, she goes one step further: achieving METRO's sustainability goals is an important contribution to the company's growth strategy. How we achieve our climate and sCore targets and actively represent the interests of our customers at the political level is the topic of this edition of MORE Podcast - Wholesale to the max.

In this episode of MORE Podcast - Wholesale to the max, we take another comprehensive look at METRO's sCore strategy and talk about the delivery business as one of the growth drivers of the company. My guest Joachim Lindner, responsible for the Multichannel Network Transformation at METRO, gives us a deep insight into the future of our wholesale stores and how they are preparing for the delivery business of tomorrow. METRO is currently creating the conditions for the targeted tripling of delivery sales by 2030. In future, the METRO and MAKRO locations will not only work as traditional wholesale stores, but also as logistics warehouses for the delivery of our hospitality and trader customers.

We take you into the exciting world of procurement at METRO! Every year, we source around €2 billion worth of products for our customers. In this episode, we reveal how we provide our professional customers in the hospitality industry and smaller retailers with a tailor-made assortment. Also learn how our sCore strategy ensures that our products are always available and how we continue to increase the share of METRO's high-quality own brands. Therefore, Bertrand Mothe, Chief Procurement Officer at METRO, is my guest in this episode of MORE Podcast - Wholesale to the max.

This year's METRO Leadership Summit was an important milestone on the journey of our sCore growth strategy. In this special episode of the MORE Podcast, I bring you the highlights of the meeting, where more than 300 leaders from all METRO countries gathered to discuss the next steps for sCore. I have compiled the most important topics and insights from the Leadership Summit for you. Tune in and let the statements of the board members inspire you and guide you in your daily work. And even though I don't have a guest this time, don't worry, there's still the ever-popular Sound Souvenir. This time it's my very own sound straight from the Leadership Summit. So get ready for an informative and entertaining episode of MORE Podcast!

It's the good old basic principle of wholesale: the more you buy of a product, the less you have to pay for it. Sounds simple and it is. At METRO, this pricing system is called "„Buy More Pay Less“", or BMPL for short. And it is one of the measures that make METRO's sCore growth strategy so successful. Why that is and why it's sometimes not so easy to simplify things is what I talk about in this episode of MORE Podcast with Matthias Dutschmann, Managing Director Offer Management and Supply Chain at METRO Germany.

In this episode of MORE Podcast, I talk to Peter Gries, Customer & Sales Officer at METRO AG, about the importance of customer understanding and customer acquisition. He explains the characteristics of the typical METRO customer and how METRO can best serve them to support their business. We also look at topics such as customer behaviour, building customer relationships, sales strategies, the role of digital tools and the use of data for customer relationship management. We also look at pricing and its role in METRO's wholesale transformation. At the end of the episode, Peter shares his Sound Souvenir with us.

Smaller retailers are finding it increasingly difficult to survive against the large hypermarket companies. Many of the family businesses are struggling for bare survival. But METRO's franchise concept offers them the perfect opportunity to transform their business into modern convenience stores and thus make them fit for a secure future. In this episode of MORE Podcast, I talk to METRO's franchise expert, Daniel Quest. He explains to us what our franchise concept looks like in detail and what special significance Trader customers have for METRO's growth in the context of the sCore strategy.

Rising costs, lack of staff, inaccurate calculation - the challenges for restaurateurs are numerous. The solution to these and many other problems lies in the digitalisation of processes in hospitality businesses. Making these more efficient and economical and thus making everyday life easier for restaurateurs is the mission of Hospitality Digital. About the ambitious goals of the METRO subsidiary and its contribution to the sCore strategy, I talk in this episode of MORE Podcast with Volker Gläser, CEO of Hospitality Digital.

METRO's sCore strategy is putting our company back on its feet. Introduced for the first time in January 2022, it's now an essential part of the daily work of each and every one of us at METRO. sCore brings us new growth and new values, initiated by our CEO of METRO, Steffen Greubel. When he first realised METRO's great potential and how he sees METRO's path to achieving its goals in 2030, he tells us in this episode of MORE Podcast - Wholesale to the max.

High dynamics and enormous growth potential - this is what METRO Markets, METRO's e-commerce platform, stands for. For the sCore strategy and the underlying multichannel business model, the digital sales channel is the turbo boost for METRO's growth engine. In this episode of MORE Podcast - Wholesale to the max, we discuss with Philipp Blome, CEO of METRO Markets, how METRO Markets is picking up speed to achieve its sales targets by 2030 and at the same time meet the high expectations of its professional hospitality customers.

"Supplying your wholesale customers is not an art. The real art is to make money with it." This difficult task is the profession and also the passion of Alessandro Urbani, Senior Vice President Food Service Distribution at METRO AG. By 2030, METRO wants to significantly increase sales and profits with its sCore strategy and a new multichannel business model. A large part of the targeted growth is to be contributed by delivery. How METRO wants to achieve this, but also what goals Alessandro has set for itself, you can find out in this episode of MORE Podcast. Have fun listening!

With great passion, the teams of the METRO countries are currently working on the implementation of their respective local sCore strategies. Now that the goals have been set, the task is to adapt the specifications developed together with corporate headquarters to the conditions in their own markets. Sabrina Ley, Senior Vice President Investor Relations & Strategy at METRO AG, impressively tells us what challenges the country colleagues have to face and what solutions they find. She has accompanied the countries in their strategy process from the beginning and gives us exciting insights into their sCore initiatives and also her personal sCore story.

MORE Podcast is back! From now on, you can find out everything you need to know about our growth strategy sCore - Wholesale to the max - directly and first-hand from the colleagues who bring sCore to life at METRO. In this first episode, Matthias Dutschmann, Senior Vice President Business Transformation at METRO AG, first gives us an overview of the many activities and initiatives with which the new strategy has been implemented at METRO since the beginning of 2022. Matthias not only explains a lot about sCore, but also tells us his own METRO story - and that is by no means less interesting.

This season of MORE Podcast is about sCore, METRO's growth strategy. Under the motto "Wholesale to the max", METRO wants to get the best, the maximum for itself and for its customers. We meet METRO colleagues who tell us their personal sCore stories. We talk to them about the most important topics of the new strategy - not only from their professional but also from their personal perspective.

Permanent stress at work, the family demands time and you take care of yourself the least of all – that's how it is: The normal madness of everyday life. Not only since Corona many of us feel overwhelmed by all the demands that life places on us. Physical and mental sufferings such as back pain, obesity or depression are often the consequences of the constant pressure. But in order to stay productive at work and in private life, you have to feel good completely. At METRO, a large-scale initiative is now helping employees to stay physically and mentally healthy. What "Well-being" provides for the people at METRO and what immeasurable value it has for our company, that's what I talk about in this episode with Payal Nambiar, Head of Corporate HR at METRO India and co-responsible for the "Well-being" programme.

On top of the San Donato wholesale store in Milan, METRO Italy built a unique place for its employees: the METRO Village. With plenty of space for interaction and creativity, it offers our colleagues optimal conditions for their "New Way of Working". Moreover, it strengthens the collaboration and the team spirit between those who work in the store and those who support them in the headquarters. One of them is Samantha De Noni, responsible for People Experience and Development in the HR department at METRO Italy. How she brings the METRO Village to life and how she is developing it step by step is what I talk to her about in this episode of MORE Podcast.

Whether it's the new or conventional way of working: Meetings are often the cause of little efficiency and a lot of bad moods. Too much, too long, no preparation and even less discipline - the list of reasons for an insufficient meeting culture can be continued endlessly. Nowadays, especially hybrid meetings challenge us to bring together participants equally from the office and from the home office. How we can improve our meeting culture, avoid unnecessary meetings and embrace our new way of working is what I talk about with Dr Tobias Schröder, Product Manager at METRO.digital and expert on asynchronous working.

How do we create the optimal office environment for our "New Ways of Working"? Even though the concepts for this have been available for some time, we still rely too much on improvisation than on real innovation. METRO PROPERTIES is now taking the step from pure theory to lived practice. With its new office concept, our real estate company offers its employees a modern working environment that meets many of the requirements of the interlinking of office and home work that has already become a reality. One of the brains behind the project is Stefan Herbert, architect at METRO PROPERTIES. I talk to him about how much the design of the workplace can shape the culture of the company.

Our new working world has taught us: we won't get ahead with our traditional working methods. And when everything around you is changing, it's helpful to be agile and ready to adapt. This is exactly where Agile Working comes in, a way of working that allows us to react flexibly and proactively to change. It's all about networks, team-based processes, employee ownership and knowledge sharing. How Agile Working can help each of us at METRO to make our working lives easier is what I talk about with Christina Lange, Agile Coach at METRO.digital and member of the "New Ways of Working" project team.

Since the move to our home offices, many of us can hardly be found at our "old" workplace. There are colleagues at METRO who have been in the office maybe just three times since March 2020. Of course, this also poses new challenges for our managers. Until now, almost all means of leading employees and teams have been based on direct human contact. But since interactions have become almost exclusively screen-based, managers and their teams have to find new ways to lead as well as to be led. In this episode, I talk to Maren Gerhäuser-von de Fenn from the House of Learning, METRO AG, about what these new ways are and what good leadership in the new normality can look like.

How has Corona changed our work and collaboration? And how can our METRO community grow even closer together? These are the questions we want to address in this episode and get answers from Elisabeth Hesse, responsible for Internal Communications at METRO. I talk to her about our Social Intranet United - so to speak our campfire around which we gather at METRO and which provides us with warmth and wisdom. Elisabeth also tells us what makes her life in the home office easier and brings us her very personal "Sound Souvenir".

One year of Corona and, like the virus, we too have mutated in this time: from office workers to home workers. Our workplace is digital and our collaboration virtual. Work and private life are merging more and more. In our first episode, we talk about this with Christian Rippl, Global Director of the House of Learning at METRO AG and co-initiator of the "New Ways of Working" project. Together with the project team, he wants to use the changes brought about by Covid-19 to improve working at METRO for all of us.