Metro AG will add Cash & Carry wholesale stores in Japan as Germany's largest retailer pushes its expansion into Asia.
The company, which first entered Japan in 2002, will this month announce plans to expand its wholesale store network, spokeswoman Setsuko Yonejima said Friday in Tokyo, declining to provide further details.
Executives including Anton Knijf, president of the Japan unit, are scheduled to hold a press conference on the plans on Oct. 22 in Tokyo. The Duesseldorf-based company has three Cash & Carry stores in Japan, which sell food and clothing to businesses, including restaurants and hotels.
International sales at Metro, which is also adding stores in China and Vietnam, grew 13 percent in the second quarter, more than double the pace of its home market. Metro has applied to open stores in Malaysia after the Southeast Asian nation decided to ease restrictions on overseas retailers, the government said Thursday.