METRO Deutschland GmbH

What METRO Deutschland GmbH does

METRO Deutschland GmbH is the German operating subsidiary of METRO AG and runs one of the country's largest food wholesale networks for professional customers. Founded in 1964 with the first Cash & Carry market in Mülheim an der Ruhr, the company today operates 102 METRO and METRO GASTRO wholesale markets across Germany and employs more than 12,000 people (some sources cite 13,000+). Its core customer base is the HoReCa segment — hotels, restaurants, caterers — supplemented by independent retailers and other commercial or institutional buyers.

The product and technology stack combines physical wholesale with growing digital integration. METRO Classic markets carry roughly 20,000 food articles and up to 8,000 non-food items; the focused METRO GASTRO format carries 10,000–15,000 food articles optimized for hospitality workflows. Food Service Distribution (FSD) handles delivery from regional depots, the METRO MARKETS online marketplace extends non-food and near-food reach digitally, and DISH supplies POS, payment and reservation software to gastronomy customers. Proprietary brands METRO Chef, METRO Premium and METRO Professional provide private-label alternatives, while METRO PRO TRACE offers digital traceability for fish and seafood. Digital shelf labels support in-store pricing and inventory management.

Revenue is generated primarily through wholesale food and non-food transactions with professional buyers, supplemented by private-label sales, delivery and logistics services, and ancillary B2B services (DISH, METRO Financial Services, METRO MARKETS). Go-to-market is multichannel: physical self-pickup at the 102 markets, inside sales for delivery customers, a large field sales force (Außendienst) acquiring and serving hospitality accounts, and digital channels for marketplace and recruitment. METRO Deutschland is wholly owned by METRO AG, which is publicly listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ticker QCE) and operates in more than 30 countries.

Name

METRO Deutschland GmbH

Legal name

METRO Deutschland GmbH

Website

https://karriere.metro.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1964

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

METRO Deutschland GmbH operates a 102-market wholesale food network across Germany under the METRO and METRO GASTRO formats, serving HoReCa customers, independent retailers and institutional buyers via in-store, delivery (FSD) and online marketplace channels, and is wholly owned by publicly listed METRO AG.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Wholesale Distribution

NAICS

Warehousing and Storage (493)

SIC

Public Warehousing & Storage (4220)

akta.pro primary industry

Foodservice / Restaurant Supply Distribution Centers (TLALAEAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Grocery & FMCG Distribution Centers (Ambient) (TLALAEAD)

Keywords

• Food wholesale distribution
• HoReCa supply
• Cash and carry
• Private label brands
• Food service delivery

Headquarters

HQ city

Düsseldorf

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Food Sales: METRO generates revenue primarily through wholesale food sales to professional customers including hotels, restaurants, catering businesses (HoReCa), and independent retailers. Customers purchase products directly at METRO markets or through delivery orders.
2. Proprietary Brand Products: Sale of private label products under METRO Chef, METRO Premium, and METRO Professional brands, offering quality alternatives to branded products at competitive prices
3. Delivery / Logistics Services: Food Service Distribution (FSD) delivery service to hospitality customers, providing convenient restocking without market visits
4. B2B Services: Additional services including DISH (digital POS and reservation systems), METRO Financial Services, insurance offerings, website creation support, menu design, and METRO MARKETS online marketplace

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

METRO Deutschland GmbH operates a multichannel B2B wholesale distribution business serving professional customers in the hotel, restaurant, and catering (HoReCa) sector across Germany. It runs 102 wholesale markets in two formats (METRO Classic with ~20,000 food and 8,000 non-food articles; METRO GASTRO with a focused 10,000–15,000 article assortment), provides Food Service Distribution (FSD) delivery from regional depots, sells private label brands (METRO Chef, METRO Premium, METRO Professional), and offers complementary digital and financial services (DISH, METRO MARKETS, METRO Financial Services, METRO PRO TRACE).

Product overview

METRO Deutschland GmbH operates a multi-format wholesale business for professional customers in the hospitality sector. The core offering comprises METRO Classic wholesale markets (approximately 102 locations) with around 20,000 food articles and 8,000 non-food products, alongside the focused METRO GASTRO format (10,000-15,000 food articles). Delivery operations (Food Service Distribution/FSD) supply customers directly from regional depots. The private label portfolio includes METRO Chef, METRO Premium, and METRO Professional at different quality/price tiers. Digital services encompass DISH (POS systems, payment solutions, table reservations), METRO MARKETS online marketplace, METRO Financial Services, and METRO PRO TRACE for fish/seafood traceability. The company serves hotels, restaurants, caterers (HoReCa), independent retailers, and other commercial/institutional customers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• METRO GASTRO: A focused market format for customers in hotel, restaurant, and catering (HoReCa) sectors, offering a core assortment with short walking distances, fast checkout, and optimal placement of bulk quantities.
• METRO Chef
• METRO Premium
• METRO Professional

Products and services

• METRO Classic Wholesale Markets Flagship full-service wholesale market format offering approximately 20,000 food articles and up to 8,000 non-food products, serving professional customers from hotels, restaurants, catering (HoReCa), and independent retailers across Germany with 102 locations nationwide.
• METRO GASTRO Markets Focused market format with a core assortment of 10,000 to 15,000 food articles specifically tailored for HoReCa customers, featuring short walking distances, faster checkout, and optimized placement of bulk quantities for hospitality buyers.
• METRO Delivery (Food Service Distribution) Food Service Distribution (FSD) delivery service that supplies HoReCa customers directly from regional depots and the delivery departments of METRO and METRO GASTRO markets, handling order processing by phone, internet, or email and providing next-day or scheduled delivery for foodservice operations.
• METRO Chef Private Label METRO's core private label brand offering quality alternatives to branded products at economically calculated prices for professional gastro customers, available in bulk packaging across METRO's wholesale markets.
• METRO Premium Private Label Premium-tier private label brand offering high-quality products meeting professional customer standards at competitive pricing, sold through METRO's wholesale markets and delivery channels to gastronomy customers.
• METRO Professional Private Label Professional-grade private label brand providing specialized products for commercial food service operations, distributed through METRO's wholesale channels to HoReCa customers.
• DISH Digital Solutions B2B digital solutions suite including POS (point-of-sale) systems, payment solutions, and table reservation systems for the gastronomy industry, sold to METRO's HoReCa customers through METRO's internal sales force.
• METRO Financial Services Specialized insurance offerings and financial services for METRO's HoReCa customers, provided through a cooperative partner network as part of METRO's broader hospitality solutions.
• METRO MARKETS Online Marketplace B2B online marketplace operated by METRO MARKETS offering non-food and near-food articles, providing a digital purchasing channel complementing the physical wholesale markets and FSD delivery service.
• METRO PRO TRACE Digital traceability tool providing customers instant access to information about fish and seafood origin, sustainability practices, and fishing methods at the push of a button, supporting METRO's position as Europe's largest fish trader.

Quantifiable outcome

• Leading market position in German food wholesale for hospitality
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DISHcoreTechnology or IntegrationDISH provides digital POS (point-of-sale) systems, table reservation solutions, and payment systems for restaurants. DISH products are offered to METRO customers as part of comprehensive hospitality solutions.
• METRO Financial ServicescoreOthersFinancial services offering specialized insurance products and financial solutions for hospitality businesses, available to METRO customers.
• PENTAGASTminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCooperation partner providing additional services to METRO hospitality customers.
• Corporate BenefitsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEmployee discount network providing METRO employees with access to partner discounts and special offers through the Corporate Benefits platform.
• METRO MARKETScoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOnline marketplace operated independently, distributing METRO non-food and near-food products through digital channels.
• Pensionskasse (Pension Fund)coreOthersPartnership with a pension fund (Pensionskasse) for the METRO Zukunftspaket (METRO Future Package) providing occupational pension scheme for all employees.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• US Foods: Major US foodservice distributor with comparable HoReCa-focused assortment, private-label portfolio, and digital ordering platform analogous to METRO MARKETS.
• Gordon Food Service: Family-owned North American broadline foodservice distributor with both store-based and delivery formats, comparable to METRO's hybrid wholesale/fulfillment model.
• METRO AG: Publicly listed parent of METRO Deutschland (Frankfurt: QCE), operating METRO/MAKRO brands in 30+ countries; the most direct consolidated reference for benchmarking METRO Deutschland's scale and economics.
• Sysco Corporation: Largest US foodservice distributor; provides a global benchmark for the cash-and-carry + delivery wholesale model serving HoReCa customers at scale.

Regional players

• Rewe Group: German retail and wholesale group (REWE, Penny, Lekkerland) that competes for HoReCa and independent retailer spend through its own wholesale and convenience distribution arms.
• Lekkerland: Rewe Group-owned convenience and foodservice wholesale distributor serving away-from-home consumption in Germany, overlapping with METRO's HoReCa and independent retailer customer base.
• EDEKA: Germany's largest grocery retailer, indirectly competing with METRO via EDEKA's independent retailer network and growing dedicated HoReCa services.

Direct peers

• Handelshof: German cash-and-carry wholesaler operating in the foodservice and retail segment, competing head-to-head with METRO's wholesale markets on assortment and HoReCa customers.
• Transgourmet Deutschland (Selgros): Operates Selgros cash-and-carry markets in Germany, directly competing with METRO's Classic and GASTRO formats on HoReCa and independent retailer customers with comparable food and non-food assortments.
• Chefs Culinar: Germany-based food service delivery wholesaler serving hotels, restaurants, and caterers with a depot-based delivery model that directly overlaps METRO's FSD delivery service.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/metro-deutschland

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about METRO Deutschland GmbH