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Makro had lost it's way many years ago.  It's attempts to rebuild and turn things around are hindered by so many issues that it's impossible to know where to start. 

Trade customer who want to put  £thousands over the counter are left in a queue with trolley loads of high GP goods whilst half a dozen folk pass through tills with borrowed Makro cards buying a single item that is on offer in this weeks Makro Mail.

The cut backs on the shop floor have left staff morale at a low never seen in wholesale which transfers into very poor customer service and poor productivity.

Meanwhile Makro tries to be all things to all people and fails at them all (electrical stock is seasons out of date comapred to specialist retailers such as Currys/PC World).  They never picked their battles ay Makro.

When a new initiative gave them the chance to diversify in a way that could have saved them they blew it. Foodservice would have been an amazing string to their bow but in typical Makro fashion they tried to be all things to all people.   Giving the sales team ridiculous parameters in which to work.  eg  being unable to win delivered business (from competitors such as Brakes and 3663) because the HORECA customer was within Zone 1 of the store.  So sales staff had to convert potential business away from a competitor delivery to coming into store!  Bear in mind that core business in foodservice is within city centres then majority of opportunty is missed when you look at the geography of Makro's stores!

Those sitting in Manchester with responsibility for delivering the £30, 000, 000 Foodservice operation had limited Foodservice experience and adopted (their previous experience) to make the operation more like that of an Asda/Tesco home delivery with delivery times/days dictated by when customers placed/wanted their orders - immediately limiting profitability and making the distribution clunky.  Factor in that DHL were delivering the goods compared to the experience of Brakes/3663 drivers who care about the customer and know the products then it was never going to work.  In the meantime if you didn't want to go to store or have a delivery you could arraneg to have your goods shipped to a car park in Milton keynes or York and go and collect them: pointless!!

Foodservice could have kick started Makro and brought incremental sales through the convenience of electrical goods and other sundry items that aren't offered by competitors in the arena.

There are some great people on the shop floor with a wealth of knowledge, particularly the butchers and fishmongers, but I'm afraid the guy atthe top should have walked long before he did - they made Makro so out of touch with what their target customer needs and in what way they want it  which is bizarre given the amount of daily "huddles", conference calling and spreadsheets they insist on!

Foodservice was an excuse for people at head office to filter down endless spreadsheets that kept sales staff off the road.  After one reporting tool too many I just never went back in.  They couldn't even fetch the company car as agreed - they reported it stolen so the police collected it!!!  This pretty much sums the business up.

RIP Makro...