Karusel name gives X5 a boost
After X5 announced that all new hypermarkets will be opened under the Karusel brand, Russia's largest food retailer, gained 3.2% in London trading. X5 also plans to adopt the Karusel name for its own superstores. The retailer aims to add as much as 160,000 m2 of space this year as economic growth in Russia enables more people to buy higher-priced foods and shop in stores rather than at open markets.
However, the Mercado brand, which some of its superstores carry, is also under consideration. In June, X5 agreed to pay €631 million for the Mercado chain of superstores - the type of outlets that have the strongest sales growth in Russia.
The first Mercado Supercenter opened its doors to customers in Lipetsk in June of this year, as a result of restyling and rebranding of “My” hypermarket that was purchased by X5 within Korzinka acquisition in December 2007. The store has a net selling space of 6,000 m2 and offers approximately 40,000 SKUs, of which above 30% are non-food items. Goods from local producers account for above 20% of the store’s assortment.
X5 Retail Group was created as a result of a merger between Pyaterochka (soft discounter chain) and Perekrestok (supermarket chain) in May 2006. As of March 2008, X5 had 731Company managed soft discount stores located in Moscow (321), St. Petersburg (249) and other Russian areas (161), 183 Company managed supermarkets across Central Russia and Ukraine, including 108 stores in Moscow (Moscow region and Yaroslavl region), and 16 Company managed hypermarkets. As of 31 March 2008, X5’s franchisees operated 711 stores across Russia and Kazakhstan.
