Makro is a Dutch-German chain of Warehouse clubs, also called cash and carries. The first one opened in 1968 in Amsterdam. In the following years stores opened in the Netherlands and in several other countries within Europe. During the 1970s and 1980s Makro extended its business to the Americas and Asia. Makro later closed its North American sites, however. The stores are not open to the general public, only to businesses which must be registered members in order to gain entry to the store.
The still privately owned SHV originated in 1896 from a merger between a number of large coal mining companies, some of which had been active since the 18th century.
In 1998 the European Makro stores were acquired by METRO a German based retail and wholesale company.\Makro is the third largest cash & carry wholesaler in the UK with a turnover of £1.1bn and a portfolio of 30 depots nationally; the Pilipinas Makro, which operates the Makro stores in the Philippines, originally was a partnership between the Sy family’s SM group, SHV Holdings N.V. of the Netherlands, and the Ayala group.