WE are
independent
Starting a new life
13 July 2017: Our first stock market listing as an independent company in the reporting period is more than just a date. It marks the official start of our independence. Nowadays, we are more than a retail company. As the leading European platform for companies, concepts and brands in the field of consumer electronics we occupy a special role in the digital world – complete with all the opportunities and challenges that entails.
The route to independence
Follow the key stages of our journey:
CEO Pieter Haas explains CECONOMY’s successful model.
“We are superbly equipped to face the future.”
The route to independence
15 December 2016: The names of the two companies to emerge from the demerger of METRO GROUP are presented for the first time at Capital Markets Day in Düsseldorf: Metro Wholesale & Food Specialist AG becomes METRO AG, and METRO AG becomes CECONOMY AG.
2 February 2017: Future CECONOMY AG announces its first establishment of a subsidiary, Retail Media Group (RMG). The online campaign specialist develops customised advertising campaigns based on non-personalised visitor and purchase statistics.
6 February 2017: At its Annual General Meeting, 99.95 per cent of the shareholders of METRO AG approve the demerger of the Group into a food specialist and a consumer electronics specialist.
7 March 2017: CECONOMY is the new principal shareholder of DTB Deutsche Technikberatung GmbH (DTB). Through its stake in the network of professional consultants, CECONOMY now keeps its promise to provide after-sales service as well.
27 June 2017: Shortly before its IPO, rating agencies Moody’s and Scope give future CECONOMY AG investment grade ratings.
12 July 2017: Entry of the Group hive-down and demerger in the commercial register marks completion of the split of METRO GROUP and the future birth of CECONOMY AG as an independent company.
13 July 2017: The new CECONOMY share is admitted to trading on the Frankfurt and Luxembourg stock exchanges. Even after the Group demerger, it remains listed in the MDAX.
11 August 2017: The name change from METRO AG to CECONOMY AG is officially entered in the commercial register, marking one of the final steps in the demerger process.
WE are
empowering
life in the digital world
Customers need us
Our world is becoming increasingly digital, but it can only really be called smart if everything actually works and interacts seamlessly. The solutions and services provided by CECONOMY play a major role in ensuring just that. This is not something we can achieve by adopting a position as a mere consumer electronics retail company; it requires our role as a leading European platform for companies, concepts and brands.
Some six million customer contacts every day show us that we are needed. And we know what is needed. Rigorous customer orientation spanning all communication channels is therefore the very clear number one topic at CECONOMY.
Ready for a changing customer world
Customers are inspired by five major trends – which offer huge opportunities for CECONOMY.
Join us on this journey!
“The boundaries between the digital and the real world are increasingly blurring.”
Ready for a changing customer world
Customers are inspired by five major trends
– which offer huge opportunities for CECONOMY.
Good transparency
Nowadays, customers are increasingly well informed and more knowledgeable than ever before.
Increased competition
Competition is fiercer today than it has ever been before. All market players are making use of all the channels to try and acquire the same customers.
Growing product range complexity
Customers are benefiting from limitless choice and are increasingly adopting a new approach to using products, by borrowing, renting or sharing them, for example.
Finding the right solutions is, however, not made easier by the growing complexity and diversity of the range. Customers therefore increasingly want clarity and support.
Increasing convenience
Customers don’t just want to shop; they want a shopping experience. They therefore expect processes to be simple and convenient, fast and smooth. They don’t just want products; they want comprehensive solutions. And they want support and personalised treatment in all channels.
New technologies
New digital technologies are reinforcing these trends and allowing customers to discover what is new, to evaluate it there and then, and to shop in a multitude of channels promising outstanding performance.
WE are
everywhere
We combine the best of two worlds
Regardless of where customers choose to look for information or advice, or to shop – whether online or when out and about, in a local bricks-and-mortar consumer electronics store or at home – CECONOMY is there for them. Customers might not think in terms of multi-channelling, but we do. Customers want everything everywhere. And we make this possible by offering the full spectrum of consumer electronics services – from providing information and advice to selling and delivering, right up to installing and repairing.
Multi-channel marketing is our winning model. Our channels are all optimally interlinked. After all, customers nowadays don’t think twice about mixing and matching their options.
WE are
solutions
Simplifying life in the digital world
The digital world – endless possibilities. Customers appreciate having a daily partner and navigator at their side to offer direct assistance. It’s not just about selling products, but about selling solutions. And that‘s precisely what we do. Complete with services for customers that extend far beyond just the product.
CECONOMY focuses on the entire customer journey. So what does that mean for the customer? We provide our solutions wherever our customer needs us: before, during and after the sale or later, if an appliance needs repairing or troubleshooting. And no matter where a customer chooses to approach us – at one of our stores, online, by mobile device or from home. It is this solution expertise that sets us apart.
WE are
digital
It‘s the only way
The consumer electronics market is particularly affected by growing digitalisation. You could even say it is digitalisation personified. Which explains why anyone looking to occupy an optimum retail position in this world must comprehensively digitalise their own business model. Survival of the fittest depends on being able to think and act digitally.
CECONOMY ranks among the digitalisation pioneers and has already reshaped its processes in some key sub-areas. We’ve understood: retail is technology nowadays. We therefore no longer see IT as a purely support function; it is, in our eyes, a core competence. We want to lead the way in digitalisation, not follow. This is how we will drive the transformation throughout the industry.
