TORONTO, August 7, 2008 – METRO Inc. (TSX:MRU.A) announced today that it will consolidate its five conventional food store banners in Ontario under the Metro name starting in September 2008. The launch of Metro in Ontario will be supported by a $200 million investment in upgraded store facilities, food offering and marketing to create the province’s largest grocery banner with 158 stores. Over a 15 month period, all current Dominion, A&P, Loeb, The Barn and Ultra banners will be converted to the Metro name. The only banner not included in the change is Food Basics which competes in the discount food segment.

“The decision to rebrand under the Metro name is part of a long-term strategy to capitalize on operational and marketing efficiencies by uniting the individual strengths of our existing banners in Ontario and sharing best practices with our Quebec and Ontario stores,” said Eric La Flèche, President and Chief Executive Officer, METRO Inc.

The change to the Metro name will begin in Toronto in September with the conversion of the city’s Dominion stores, followed by the rollout of the Metro brand across Ontario. All Dominion, Ultra and The Barn stores will be converted before the end of 2008, Loeb stores will be converted in the first half of 2009 and A&P stores will be converted before the end of 2009. When the banner consolidation program is complete, the new Metro network in Ontario and Quebec will comprise 376 conventional food stores including 218 in Quebec.

METRO will invest $200 million to remodel its stores and upgrade its food offering to serve the lifestyle preferences of Ontario consumers while continuing to provide excellent everyday value. The company began preparing for the Ontario banner conversion after its acquisition of A&P Canada in 2005 by integrating its management information systems and strengthening its supply chain in anticipation of today’s announcement. The company is also unveiling a new unified corporate and retail logo as part of its updated public image.

“METRO is very pleased to take the next step in the growth of our company,” said Mr. La Flèche. “We are building on a strong foundation due to our unwavering focus on food, our great store locations and our dedicated staff to provide our customers with the best shopping experience. We are excited about what we’ll have in store starting September.”

METRO INC.
With annual sales of nearly $11 billion and over 65,000 employees, METRO Inc. is a leader in the food and pharmaceutical sectors in Québec and Ontario, where it operates a network of close to 600 food stores under several banners including Metro, Metro Plus, Super C, A&P, Dominion, Loeb, and Food Basics, as well as over 250 pharmacies under the Brunet, Clini Plus, The Pharmacy and Drug Basics banners.


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For more information, please contact:

Selena Fiacco
Director, Communications
METRO Inc. 
416-234-6081
selena.fiacco@metro.ca

Forward-looking Statements
Any statement contained in this press release which does not constitute an historic fact, may be deemed a projection. Verbs such as “believe”, “foresee”, “estimate”, “expect” and other similar expressions appearing in this press release generally indicate projections. These projections do not provide guarantees as to the future performance of METRO INC. and are subject to risks, both known and unknown, as well as uncertainties which may cause the outlook, profitability and actual results of METRO INC. to differ significantly from the profitability or future results stated or implied in these projections. The risks identified by METRO INC. are described in the 2007 Annual Report under Risk Management. The forward-looking statements formulated in this press release are based on a certain number of assumptions regarding the economy, the market, and the Company’s operations and financial position. One of these assumptions is that current trends in these areas will persist into the future. These assumptions are reasonable and applicable at this press release’s date of issue only and represent our expectations at said time. METRO INC. does not intend to update the forward-looking statements that may be contained herein, except as required by law.