X5 Retail

Russian retail leader X5 has announced growth in its net sales for the third quarter of the year, with consolidated net retail sales increasing 32 per cent year-on-year to R105bn (€2.4bn).

Organic sales increased 18 per cent on the same quarter of 2010, while like-for-like sales grew 4 per cent.

During the three-month period, X5 opened 102 new stores in the country, including 114 soft discounters, six supermarkets, two hypermarkets and 11 convenience outlets, while it closed 31 Kopeyka units.

For the first nine months of the year, consolidated net retail sales jumped 40 per cent on the same period a year before to R3.30bn (€6.9bn).

Despite these positive numbers, however, X5 revealed that it was cutting its full-year sales forecast from 40 per cent to 35 per cent, due to the uncertain economic environment and the rebranding of its Kopeyka stores.

'Russian consumers have cut back on spending amid unstable economic conditions in Russia and worldwide, a trend that has been observed on the Russian food retail market,' the group noted.