Hans-Joachim Körber, chief executive of Germany’s Metro, is to be replaced by supervisory board chairman Eckhard Cordes on October 1, a move that spells big changes at the world’s third-largest retailer by sales.

People familiar with the food-to-electronics retail conglomerate said Mr Cordes, chief executive of Metro’s main shareholder Haniel, was planning a strategic shake- up only three weeks after raising his group’s stake.