The company Starting in 1992, Real was created from the merger of 13 hypermarket operators with different sales concepts: Real-kauf, divi, Continent, massa, massa-Mobil, Meister, esbella, basar, BLV, Huma and Suma. In 1998, allkauf and Kriegbaum were added to the chain. Each of these companies had a very successful regional track record spanning several decades. In 1998, the chain was expanded by 94 hypermarkets of the Allkauf Group and 20 hypermarkets of the Kriegbaum Group. In May 1999, five stores of extra-Verbrauchermärkte GmbH were added to Real. In 2006, Real acquired Wal-Mart's hypermarkets in Germany, as well as the Polish stores of the French hypermarket chain, Géant.METRO GROUP is one of the largest and most international retailing companies worldwide: Some 300,000 employees from 150 nations are working at around 2,100 stores in 34 countries in Europe, Africa and Asia. The portfolio of our strong sales brands offers a wide range of services for private and commercial customers: - Metro/Makro Cash & Carry, world market leader in cash & carry - Real hypermarkets - Media Markt and Saturn, European leader in consumer electronics retailing - Galeria Kaufhof, the system leader in the department store business MGAM