Metro Pakistan
Metro Pakistan, formerly known as Metro-Habib and Makro Habib, is a Pakistani supermarket chain stores operator based in Lahore. It is a subsidiary of German chain Metro Cash & Carry and Thal Limited.
Metro opened its first store in 2007. It operates 10 supermarkets, in total, in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Faisalabad, and Multan.
History
Makro Habib Pakistan was established in 2005 as a joint venture between the Dutch wholesale giant Makro and the Pakistani conglomerate House of Habib. The company began its operations by opening its first store in SITE Industrial Area Karachi in 2006.In 2006, Makro-Habib began construction of a store in Saddar Town after obtaining a sublease from the Army Welfare Trust on a playground called Webb Ground, a five-acre playing field located in Tunisia Lines and named after Sir Montagu de Pomeroy Webb. Webb Ground was originally leased to AWT for commercial purposes in December 2002. Before the construction of the store, Webb Ground had been utilized as a sports field by Karachi Grammar School for nearly 80 years. In the mid-1980s, it was incorporated into the Lines Area Redevelopment Scheme and served as a neighborhood playground for approximately 200,000 residents. The project was halted by the court in 2009 when the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled that Makro-Habib must dismantle its structures on the playfield. The judgment revealed complex dealings involving the Government of Pakistan, the Army Welfare Trust, and the City District Government Karachi. The court found that the government had transferred the plot to CDGK for amenity purposes before AWT subleased it to Makro-Habib. Despite being aware of CDGK's prior claim to the land, Makro-Habib proceeded with construction. The court criticized the lease arrangements as undervalued and not in public or governmental interest. The filed a review petition and obtained an interim order maintaining the status quo until the petition's resolution. The review petition was ultimately dismissed by the court in 2015 and subsequently the store was permanently closed.
In 2007, Makro's plan to open a store in Model Town, Lahore, was halted by a court injunction when Justice Muzammal Ahmad Khan of the Lahore High Court stayed the construction of store following writ petitions challenging the conversion of an amenity plot into a department store. The petitioners cited a prior ruling that prohibited converting the plot to commercial use without modifying the society's master plan. In 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency of Punjab approved the area for store construction, and the store was opened in Model Town in 2009.
In October 2007, Metro Cash and Carry expanded into Pakistan, opening its first wholesale center in Lahore. Six month later, Metro opened another business-to-business store in Islamabad.
In 2008, Makro-Habib store was opened near Star Gate on Shahrah-e-Faisal in Karachi. In the same year, the Dutch parent company exited the Pakistan and sold its entire stake to House of Habib.
By 2009, Metro Cash and Carry changed its business model from business-to-business to hybrid model where small consumers can also purchase products. In 2010, Metro introduced the own brands concept in Pakistan, allowing small businesses to feature their products in Metro Cash and Carry stores nationwide. The initiative showcased five core brands across two price tiers, with packaging designed by Metro. In 2011, Makro and Metro Cash & Carry merged their operations in Pakistan. In 2011, at the time of their merger, Metro Cash and Carry was operating five wholesale outlets in Pakistan: two in Lahore, and one each in Karachi, Islamabad, and Faisalabad, having started its operations in 2007. Makro Habib Pakistan also had five stores, with three in Karachi and two in Lahore.
In 2015, a new Metro store was opened in Faisalabad, Punjab. Two years later, it was named as the best place to work in Pakistan.
In 2020, Metro expanded further with opening of a new store in Multan, Punjab.