German wholesale retailer Metro, which entered India in 2003, is forecasting its entry to the Indian market via smaller stores, amid the impending entry of giants like Wal-Mart.

“The next year will be a period consolidation for Metro in India” said a senior Company official. “A lot depends on the performance of all the stores in India. In terms of investments, 2013 will be cold and it’s going to be consolidation phase.”

The firm is looking forward to open five or six stores every year. The firm has also revisited its real estate strategy by trimming its average large format store size to half. In the initial phase, it opened stores with average retail space of 100,000 sq ft in build-up area. In the new format Metro is looking at opening stores with an average space of 50,000- 55,000 sq ft