That's official, after weeks of rumors, the announcement of the departure of METRO, the hypermarket professionals, is scheduled for Dec. 1.
Label Society Life, Moroccan, bought the full 8 Subway stores located in Morocco and will pass under the name of its French partner: CARREFOUR.
The establishment in Morocco of the mass distribution is fairly recent and cover the main cities of the Kingdom has made over the last 8 years with an acceleration for 2 years.
The first French group to have really déffriché field was Auchan who retired 2 years ago. In Fez
supply in large and medium surface becomes bloated due to the population and its purchasing power.
Currently we have 3 supermarkets, 2 and 1 Metro Marjane who becomes Carrefour supermarkets as well as 3, 2 and 1 Acima Swiss Life, which opened this month.
Under construction with a planned opening in 2011 Carrefour shopping center with among others the first Virgin Fes!
The disappearance of the Metro brand will penalize the restaurant and hospitality professionals mainly whatever level Equipment may also for all delicacies and hygiene. Another area of activity will have to reorganize, it is that small grocers to which Metro was their main supplier.
40 years after France, Morocco will experience the same upheaval that leads to the supermarket when it develops.
Certainly it is desirable that a country can reach a better quality of life and benefit from easier access to modern consumption for its people but Morocco is not France and for example what would become of Medina population if tomorrow there was no grocery store in the neighborhood as most people have no transport and had not afford to fill a shopping cart?
We have no official explanation as to why Metro to abandon his business.
Maybe this distribution model was too specialized to find his pioneering economic profitability but it is when the demand for hotels and restaurants that explodes Metro stops ... Too bad!