Aug 25, 2008 12:00 PM, By MICHAEL GARRY

Metro Group’s new Future Store at a Real hypermarket in Germany is a test bed of all manner of retail technology, from cell phone scanners to smart freezers By: By MICHAEL GARRY

When Metro Group opened its first Future Store at an Extra supermarket in Rheinberg, Germany, in late April 2003, the store may have gained as much notice for the appearance of supermodel and Rheinberg native Claudia Schiffer at the grand opening as for its collection of advanced retail technologies.

But the store gradually became known as a kind of mecca for in-store technology, attracting more than 31,000 visitors from 63 countries who wanted to see deployments of such systems as RFID-based smart shelves, intelligent produce scales, personal shopping assistants, a variety of kiosks, electronic shelf labels and anti-theft portals. It was said to be the largest collection of in-store technologies ever assembled under one roof.

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