The grocery retailer Lenta has entered the Moscow region. The first of the company’s stores in the capital opened on a 3,000 m2 site in 1stOstankinskaya Street the end of April 2013. The store is also the first establishment in the new supermarket format. In the past Lenta operated hypermarkets only.
Another Lenta store in the city hypermarket format opened in the Makcity shopping centre in Balashikha (in the Moscow Province) the end of May 2013. This outlet takes up 4,500 m2. Overall, in the next 3-4 years the retailer intends to launch about 10 stores in the region. In April 2013 Lenta had 57 active hypermarkets in 32 Russian cities.
Lenta
Lenta hypermarket in Krasnoyarsk
By the end of 2013 a new hypermarket Lenta will be opened in Krasnoyarsk.
The total area of the hypermarket will be about 12,000 square meters. Number of items is 20,000 SKU. It is noted that products of local manufacturers will be especially placed there.
Today, Lenta is one of the largest Russian retailers. It was founded in 1993 in St. Petersburg, and now, there are more than 50 hypermarkets in different regions of the country .
Source: www.megamagnat.ru
Meeting of Rosselkhoznadzor officials and Russian retailers
November 12, 2012: Rosselkhoznadzor organized a regular meeting dedicated to the “safety of plant products supplied to retail chains” with the representatives of organizations engaged in the sale of plant products.
The meeting was dedicated to discussing ways to improve the safety of plant products supplied to retailers. Among the participants were senior officials of Rosselkhoznadzor, representatives of X5 Retail Group LLC, Real Hypermarket LLC, Metro Cash & Carry LLC, Lenta, Okay, Belaya Dacha Trading JSC, National Agricultural Union.
The representatives of trade organizations acknowledged the need to develop a unified form to accompany the incoming plant products as it moves through Russia and the Customs Union. The meeting agreed on the need of development and short-term harmonization of such document.
The meeting resulted in a protocol on “Security of plant products supplied to retailers”
Source: www.fruitnews.ru
Why don’t the retailers work directly with suppliers?
Fruitnews.ru made a reseach why Russian retailers prefer working with dealers and middlemen to dealing directly with suppliers.
Several retailers leading their activities in Russia, organize their work in a way to exclude other companies from the supply chain of fruits and vegetables although this is certainly a real opportunity to get the best prices. Certain retailers begin to interact directly with the growers, but then return to the established pattern, which includes dealers and middlemen.
There are certain reasons for that. It is the lack of modern storage facilities which has already become common in our country, lack of screening and treatment facilities, and poorly-organized supply chain:
– In cities where the producers have well-organized processes of logistics, training and storage of goods, we work directly with them. But if the grower does not comply with these requirements, we have to buy the product from the distributor, who is able to present the product, calibrate it and supply to supermarkets. For example, an onion grower from Rostov can only produce the product and put it in storage, – says Dmitry Agaltsov the Purchasing Director of the section “Fruits and Vegetables” of the “Lenta” retail chain.
The Divisional manager of the department “New Products” of the “Real – Hypermarket LLC” Christian Look also highlights the complexity of direct cooperation:
“Risk of the quality of the goods carried by the retailer. If a vendor supplies defective goods, the seller will have to spend time and money on sorting out and disposal, writing claims to the supplier. Meanwhile, this item will not appear in stores, so the seller also suffers damages due to reduced turnover. Also the retailer must go through all the procedures for customs clearance of goods, involving additional (and considerable) human resources, which are not always built into the company’s staff.
Then, too large amounts of supplies from manufacturers. Minimum order of goods of one type is, as a rule, not less than 20 tons. Usually, we do not need such a large volume. In addition, according to the quality standards applied in the “Real” chain, fruits and vegetables can not be stored in our warehouse for more than three days”.
Many experts also believe that, despite the willingness and desire of many retailers to pass to direct supplies one day, intermediaries will remain.
The reason is, many manufacturers are working on a prepaid basis, and quotas for shipments are counted in hundreds of tons. There are also air deliveries of exotic fruits and berries from Brazil, China, South Africa and other regions. This is a very expensive and risky way, which is, as retailers forecast, will long remain the responsibility of third parties.
Source: www.fruitnews.ru
Lenta to expand in the regions
In 2012 Lenta, based in St. Petersburg, is planning to open 1-2 hypermarket in Novosibirsk, one in Omsk, Barnaul, Surgut, Tcheboksary, Ufa, Volgograd and Novorossiysk.
At the moment the company is operating 42 stores in 22 Russian cities: 14 in St. Petersburg, 5 – in Novosibirsk, 2 in Nizhny Novgorod, Krasnodar and Omsk, one in Tyumen, Astrakhan, Volgograd, Barnaul, Novorossiysk, Rostov-Don and others.
Source: www.retail.ru
Facts and Figures about Russian Retail Market 2011
2011 the Finnish retail chain Prisma is planning to open a new hypermarket and two supermarkets in St. Petersburg. The premium-class supermarket chain Globus Gourmet will open four stores in Moscow and St. Petersburg, with the investment volume reaching RUB 600m. Russia’s retail market leaders – X5 Retail Group and Magnit – accounted for 80% of all the new stores opened by the largest market players in Q1 2011. Dixy’s net revenues in 2010 amounted to RUB 257.7m. The sales of Lenta, retail chain from St. Petersburg , grew by 35% in Q1 2011.
Source: www.retailer.ru