METRO Wholesale India pioneered India’s cash-and-carry B2B wholesale model in 2003. Today, it serves kirana owners, HoReCa and other SME businesses, offering thousands of high-quality products at transparent wholesale prices.
To fuel growth among its B2B audience, METRO Wholesale needed a campaign that would challenge a deeply held market perception: that a corporate or organised wholesaler with physical stores may not offer high quality products at low prices.
The objective was to reinforce METRO’s position as the one-stop shop for small businesses, while making its value proposition - superior product quality at attractive wholesale prices - both compelling and impossible to ignore. We were tasked with creating four TVCs - featuring a celebrity cast - which could deliver this message in a way that was sharp, credible, and relevant to a discerning, value-driven audience.
We began with the audience: business owners who were knowledgeable, price-aware, and rarely swayed by exaggerated claims. To earn their trust, the campaign needed to speak their language - grounded in fact, respectful of their business acumen, and worth their attention.
In India, “5 star” is a familiar cultural shorthand for top quality, used well beyond the world of hospitality. We saw an opportunity to harness this instant association with excellence and pair it with METRO Wholesale’s core promise of wholesale pricing. The creative twist was to present prices so low they seemed like a mistake - creating a moment of surprise that would spark curiosity and draw people in to see for themselves.
We produced four TVCs featuring Namit Das, chosen for his strong relatability in Tier II cities and his rising recognition following the success of the OTT series A Suitable Boy. In the series, he played Haresh Khanna - a grounded, self-made businessman - a role that aligned naturally with METRO’s core audience of hardworking, value-hunting business owners. His presence brought both familiarity and credibility to the campaign, helping the message resonate more deeply.
The films were shot inside a live METRO store to showcase the real shopping experience and add authenticity to the brand’s value proposition. Filming in an operational store, however, came with its own challenges. It meant shooting overnight and wrapping up just as the store opened for customers at 6 a.m. For distribution, the campaign focused on regional news channels, chosen for their credibility and strong engagement with METRO’s core B2B audience, particularly in Tier I and Tier II markets. To ensure the creative landed with equal impact across these regions, we dubbed the films into eight regional languages, making the message accessible and relatable to viewers.
The campaign delivered strong, measurable results in its opening month:
- Footfall rose by 36%, signaling a successful shift in perception and desire to visit.
- Continued month-on-month sales growth, showing the campaign’s sustained influence.
- Sales teams reported smoother customer journeys, as TVCs had already established credibility before in-store engagement.
Beyond these tangible outcomes, the campaign elevated METRO Wholesale’s positioning. It reframed quality at low cost from a sceptical perception into a trusted expectation.