Metro wants to accelerate its international expansion, with a focus on Eastern Europe and Asia (where its stores tend to offer a lot of sporting goods). Because of the international financial crisis, the group’s total sales declined by 3.6 percent to €65.5 billion last year; although they remained stable at $26.5 billion in Germany. Kaufhof, which operates 13 Sportarena stores among others, suffered a 1.9 percent sales decline to €3.5 billion for the year, but the fourth quarter showed an improvement. Metro has reiterated its interest in acquiring only some of the 120 stores of Karstadt, but the latter’s receivers are insisting on selling the whole business.