Makro
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Makro is a chain of self-service wholesale stores, so called cash and carrys. The first one opened in 1968 in Amsterdam. In the following years stores opened in the Netherlands and in several other countries within Europe. During the 1970's and 1980's Makro extended its business to the Americas and Asia. Makro later closed its North American sites, however.
Makro was owned by the Nederlandse Steenkolen Handels Vereniging (SHV). The still privately owned SHV originated in 1896 from a merger between a number of large coal trading companies, some of which had been active since the 18th century.
In 1998 the European Makro stores were acquired by METRO a German based retail and wholesale company founded in 1964. The Non-European Makro stores are still owned by SHV, except for the ones in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Those are owned by Massmart Holdings Limited.
European stores can be found in the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Czech Republic, Greece, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom. In the UK, as of early 2006 there are 33 locations and annual turnover was more than £1 billion. The UK stores are located in the following locations (in the order in which they opened):
- Manchester - Barton area of Eccles, Salford. Opened 11 May 1971
- Liverpool - Kirkby. Opened 8 August 1972
- Halesowen - Birmingham. Opened 30 July 1973
- Newcastle - Washington district. Opened 24 September 1973
- Charlton - London. Opened 19 March 1974
- Leeds. Opened 11 June 1974
- Glasgow. Opened 24 July 1978
- North Acton - London. Opened 17 June 1980
- Sheffield. Opened 10 March 1981
- Fareham - Southampton. Opened 17 September 1985
- Bristol. Opened 24 September 1986
- Enfield - London. Opened 9 September 1987
- Nottingham. Opened 2 March 1988
- Edinburgh. Opened 31 August 1988
- Leicester. Opened 13 September 1989
- Reading. Opened 14 March 1990 (Pictured above)
- Hull. Opened 26 September 1990
- Poole. Opened 11 September 1991
- Cardiff. Opened 9 October 1991
- Croydon - London. Opened 29 April 1992
- Aberdeen. Opened 15 September 1993
- Stoke. Opened 15 September 1993
- Belfast. Opened 20 October 1993
- Preston. Opened 26 September 1994
- Swansea. Opened 24 October 1994
- Rayleigh - London. Opened 26 April 1995
- Teesside. Opened 1 November 1995
- Coventry. Opened 24 October 2001
- Norwich. Opened 4 September 2002
- Exeter. Opened 8 January 2003
- Ipswich. Opened 10 September 2003
- Chester - Queensferry. Opened 19 November 2003
- Wolverhampton. Opened 10 December 2003
The UK head office is located in the Manchester store.
Makro sells both food and non-food products. The stores are not open to the general public, but serve the following sectors:
- Traders, such as newsagents and convenience stores.
- Caterers, such as restaurants and hotels.
- Complementary business users, such as doctors surgeries and universities.
Customers can shop at Makro with a membership card. Many people near the Queensferry, Flintshire branch for example, own Makro cards.
Makro UK used to have the tag-line "The UK's No.1 Discounter" (including the quotation marks) on their company stationery and on the side of their stores. This tag-line has since been removed and the validity of this claim has never been proven. It now uses the tagline, "For Professionals".
