Metro (supermarket, Canada)
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Metro Inc. TSX: MRU.SV.A is a food retailer operating in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, as well as a store in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador. The company is based in Montreal, Quebec.
Metro is the second largest grocer in Quebec, after Loblaw Companies Limited. There are 243 namesake stores in Quebec, averaging 22,300 square feet (2,000 m²). With combined sales of $2.7 billion, Metro is the largest supermarket chain in the province.
Metro acquired 48 of 112 Steinberg's Supermarkets when that company went bankrupt in 1992. These stores were re-branded as "Super C" and "Metro" stores. It acquired Loeb Stores from Loblaws in 1999. Some of the stores were converted to "Super C", while others continue to operate as Loeb. There are now 34 Loeb stores in Ontario while the Super C stores have been converted to Food Basics in Ontario.
Following completion of its acquisition of A&P Canada on August 15, 2005, after beating out Sobeys in a bidding war, Metro now has a network in Quebec and Ontario of 579 conventional and discount food stores, and 182 pharmacies. Metro holds the second largest market share in the food distribution and retailing business in Quebec and Ontario with nearly $11 billion in sales and more than 65,000 employees. Metro operates its food stores under the banners Metro, Metro Plus, Super C, A&P, Dominion, Loeb, Food Basics, The Barn and Ultra Food & Drug. Its pharmacies operate under the banners Brunet, The Pharmacy and Drug Basics.
Super C is the discount supermarket division operated in Quebec with 53 stores, averaging 45,200 square feet (4,000 m²). These stores contribute to $1 billion of Metro's annual sales.
Metro also operates 142 convenience stores under the Marché Richelieu banner as well as 93 pharmacies under the Brunet name and 72 under the Clini Plus name.
Moreover it owns five private labels: "Merit Selection", "Irresistible", and "Super C" (created by Metro) and "Equality" and "Masterchoice" from the acquisition of A&P Canada.
Metro Inc. is not affiliated with Germany's METRO AG.
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[edit] Acquisition of A&P Canada
On July 19, 2005, Metro Inc. announced that it had reached an agreement with The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company Inc. and its subsidiary, A&P Luxembourg S.à.r.l., to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of A&P Canada, for an acquisition price of $1.7 billion, consisting of $1.2 billion in cash and $500 million in the form of treasury shares of Metro. The purchase was completed on August 15, 2005. [1]
In April 2006, Metro reported a 27.5% increase in profits for the second quarter of the fiscal year, making $57 million in Q2 2006 compared to the $44.7 million in Q2 2005. In a company statement, Metro reported that "This increase results mainly from the acquisition of A&P Canada."
[edit] Corporate governance
Current members of the board of directors of Metro Inc. are: Pierre Brunet, Jacques Chevrefils, Marc De Serres, Serge Ferland, Paule Gauthier, Paul Gobeil, Maurice Jodoin (chairman), Maryse Labonté, Bernard Roy, Pierre Lessard, Gérard Limoges, and Marie-José Nadeau.
