Metro does not want to sell Real-Print

Metro AG does not intend to sell its "Real" supermarket chain in Germany, according to Olaf Koch, Managing Director of the German Distributor, according to Agerpres.
"We are now at a time when we can say: the company has successfully organized its future," Koch told WirtschaftsWoche magazine (WiWo) when asked how long to keep the "Real Metro" network .
"We are currently working on the successful development of Real, our real estate properties, by increasing the potential value of the new business model, in the midst of the rapid growth of the online market," added the head of Metro.
The development of a "market hall" concept in a Real Store in Krefeld, Germany increased the number of customers by 30%. In the medium term, about 30 of the 280 actual stores can be turned into "market halls", while other units could incorporate various aspects of the concept, Koch said.
Koch also said Metro remains committed to the Russian subsidiary despite poor performance.
During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017, Real recorded a 3.1% decline in sales and a 24% decrease in operating income.
Last year, Metro AG completed its split process into two companies, with its hypermarket operations being independently listed on the Frankfurt and Luxembourg Stock Exchanges.
Metro, a conglomerate with 2000 stores in 29 countries, has been engaged in an extensive restructuring process for several years, including the sale of Kaufhof stores to focus on cash and business. -carry, and the distribution of consumer electronics products. A German union threatens new strikes to "Real"

Verdi union threatens to ask 34,000 employees of the chain of "Real" German hypermarkets to launch new strikes to protest against a wage agreement that according to the union would result in a 23% reduction in the salary of new employees, reports Reuters.
After two years of unsuccessful attempts to reach a wage agreement with the Verdi union for the workers of the "Real" hypermarket chain, the Metro group has reached an alternative agreement with the Employers' Association (AHD).
But Verdi criticized the new wage agreement, pointing out that Metro is trying to avoid the commitments it has made to secure jobs and investments while it wants to pay less for new employees , give up the Christmas bonuses and reduce the extra night shifts. In addition, the union asked Real's management team to reconsider the previous wage agreement that had been negotiated with Verdi.
"We'll decide what to do in the fall," Verdi's representative Silke Zimmer said, as Real's employees launched a 24-hour strike on Friday.
More than 1,200 employees at 65 "Real" stores held a rally in front of the subway headquarters in Dusseldorf and others hit Berlin and East Thuringia, Verdi informs.
In response, Real's management team reported on Friday that new employees were receiving pay depending on the level of the market and that they did not have to discuss it with Verdi because the company had a valid AHD salary.