METRO AG will close all six stores and its delivery operations in Kazakhstan by the end of March 2027, ending a presence that began in 2009. Announcing the decision on 2 October, METRO Kazakhstan said the phased withdrawal would affect a business employing 650 people and supplying hospitality operators and independent retailers, DKNews.kz reports.
The company said a review of its long-term prospects had concluded that the local business continued to lack a firm foundation for sustainable growth, despite substantial investment and efforts to adapt its wholesale model to the market.
Expansion in delivery could not secure lasting growth
METRO reached the decision after reviewing its Kazakhstan operations over the past several months. The local team had worked to improve its offer to customers and adapt the business to local trading conditions.
In recent years, METRO Kazakhstan had strengthened its focus on hotels, restaurants and other hospitality businesses, alongside independent traders. It also expanded delivery services to extend its wholesale reach.
Those efforts did not resolve the underlying challenges, the company said. It pointed to the difficulty of building sustainable growth in a specialised food wholesale market with a geographically dispersed customer base.
A transition affecting 650 employees
Mesut Dogukan, CEO of METRO Kazakhstan, described the announcement as an exceptionally difficult moment for the workforce.
“We are proud of what our colleagues have accomplished over the past seventeen years. I would like to thank all our employees for their longstanding efforts and commitment – as much as I would like to thank our business partners and public authorities for their continuous trust, collaboration and support over the many years of METRO’s presence in Kazakhstan,” said Mesut Dogukan, CEO of METRO Kazakhstan.
The company pledged to make every effort to support employees throughout the transition, treat them fairly and respectfully, and comply fully with applicable labour laws. Local management will coordinate the withdrawal with customers, suppliers and other business partners over the coming months.
“Our priority now is to manage this process responsibly and respectfully for our 650 employees as well as for our customers and suppliers, who rely on METRO Kazakhstan,” Dogukan said.
Seventeen years of investment in Kazakhstan
METRO entered Kazakhstan in October 2009, becoming the country’s first international wholesale company, according to its account of the business’s history. The group described its arrival as a milestone for European investment and the modernisation of Kazakhstan’s trade infrastructure.
It subsequently invested in its store network, logistics, supply chains, workforce and commercial partnerships.
METRO’s core customers are hotels, restaurants and caterers — collectively known as HoReCa — as well as independent retailers. Its wholesale model combines purchases at large stores with Food Service Distribution, or FSD, delivery services, supported by connected digital systems.
Customers face a change in supply arrangements
Globally, METRO serves approximately 15 million customers, operates in more than 30 countries and employs over 84,000 people. The group generated sales of €32.4 billion in the 2024/25 financial year.
Its subsidiary METRO MARKETS has been developing an international online marketplace for professional customers since 2019. The group also identifies sustainability as a guiding principle and is represented in international sustainability indices and ratings, including MSCI, Sustainalytics and CDP.
For customers in Kazakhstan, the withdrawal means preparing for the loss of a supplier serving both hospitality and retail businesses. METRO has not specified individual store closure dates or the final date for deliveries in its announcement. The deadline for completing the withdrawal is the end of March 2027.
For broader context on the market, DKNews.kz has previously examined changing consumer habits and how retailers are adapting in Kazakhstan in its Russian-language coverage.
