4 May 2009
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Metro Group is ambitiously planning to boost the expansion of its Media-Saturn consumer electronics retail division, making it the world’s largest retailer in its segment ahead of Best Buy. The paper quotes CEO Eckhard Cordes as saying: “In the medium to long term, we have the potential to make Media Saturn No. 1." In 2008, Best Buy generated sales around 65%, or approximately USD20 million, higher than Media-Saturn. To bold statement comes three months after Metro Group announced that its electronics division would expand into China in 2010, with China expected to play a key role in the retailer’s aggressive growth. The WSJ quotes Thomas Roeb, retail professor at the University of Applied Sciences in Bonn Rhein-Sieg, as saying: “It’s not a completely unrealistic claim. Best Buy's success is largely an American success, while Metro has successfully expanded abroad.”