Electronics
French electronics retailer Fnac Darty has set up a purchase alliance with competitor MediaMarkt Saturn. Both companies will buy together when it comes to the European retail market.
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Saturn has opened Europe’s first checkout-free electronics store in Austria. The former Metro Group chain offers its customers traditional sales assistance, but payments have to happen using an app.
Ceconomy will create uniformity between Media Markt and Saturn’s online and offline pricing. This will be possible thanks to the digital price tags it now uses in the stores, because there can be altered in real-time.
Saturn customers can use their own VR goggles to see products in two virtual environments. It is not yet possible to actually buy something in VR however.
Ceconomy, the newly-formed electronics company that split off from the Metro Group, grew 1.1 % in its first independent quarter. The owner of Media Markt and Saturn saw its web shops outperform physical stores.
General
German Metro Group has seen its turnover drop slightly in its past fiscal year, as its food branch (including chains like Makro, Metro and Real) outperformed its electronics subsidiaries (Media Markt, Saturn and Redcoon).
