Petersburg retail chain “Land” was opened in 1998, and by 2011 there were only 6 supermarkets. But in 2012, the retailer is launching two more stores. One (600 square meters) was opened on September 13, the other (1200 square meters) will be opened by the end of 2012.
Ilya Strom, CEO of the company, said during a press conference, that by 2014 the number of supermarkets in St. Petersburg will grow up to 13, and by 2016 – up to 18. This will allow the company to take up to 70% in the premium segment of FMCG market in St. Petersburg. Now, according to the company, its share is 54%. Market capacity is estimated at 10%.
Also, “Land” will expand into other regions of the country. The first store is planned to open in Sochi in the end of 2013 – beginning of 2014. “We are also interested in opening new supermarkets in other cities in the south of Russia, and in the Urals and Siberia. First of all, these are the cities with the population more than a million – Krasnodar, Yekaterinburg, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Novosibirsk”- said Ilya Strom.
Besides, “Land” is planning to enter the market of CIS countries. According to Ilya Strom, now the company is discussing the possibility of opening a supermarket in Finland. However, the exact launch date and the number of supermarkets were not named.
The average investment in opening one “Land” supermarket is from 1.2 million euros (500 sq m) to 1.8 million euros (1000-1500 sq m). The approximate payback period is five years. For the development the company uses both its own money and credit aid.
“Land” is also planning to increase its own imports and expand the range of imported products from the current 2,000 to 4,000 positions by the end of 2013. “Basically, we will continue to work with the producers in Spain, Italy and Finland. But we are also planning to start working with England and France”,- said Svetlana Andronikova, commercial director of the company.
Besides, now “Land” is negotiating with farmers of Leningrad, Pskov and Vologda regions to supply products in supermarkets. Part of the farm products will be sold under retailer’s brand.
Source: www.retailer.ru