METRO Cash & Carry, a wholesale company, launched its first Business-to-Business (B2B) store in the city on Wednesday.
Mayor Golagani Hari Venkata Kumari formally inaugurated the store in the presence of the firm’s managing director Aravind Mediratta, at Paradesipalem on Wednesday.
Tourism Minister Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao, in a virtual message, commended the company for creating job opportunities for locals through the store.
“Though we are an international wholesale company, only 1% of our products are imported while the remaining 99% are Indian. We also promote regional and local products through our stores across the country. We also help the kirana dealers to upgrade their stores by giving them a new look and adopting technology to attract more customers, under our Smart Kirana programme. We are the only B2B company offering this kind of service. We have already remodelled two traditional kirana stores in Vizag city to a modern open format store,” Mr. Mediratta said.
“We provide free consultancy service to our retailers to improve their business. The products at the neighbourhood kirana store should reflect the profile of the people living in the surrounding areas,” he said.
A business licence and a photo identity card are required to become a METRO wholesale member.
Mr. Aravind said that this was their first store in Vizag and the second in the State. The first store in A.P. was opened in Vijayawada.
