Russian retail market

Potato prices are 1.5 times higher

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Retail prices for potato are higher by almost 1.5 times in contrast with last year.

The retail price of fresh potatoes in Moscow stores and vegetable markets broke all records of last year. In mid-November, residents of the capital and its suburbs are buying potatoes for approximately 27-35 rubles per kilogram. Minimum prices are suggested by retail chains “Auchan”, “Dixie” and “Pyatyorochka”, where you can find native potatoes 18-22 rubles per kilogram. The quality and vendibility of vegetables in grocery discounters cannot be called even satisfactory.

High prices of potatoes this season arise from several factors: the rainy weather in the harvest season, a poor harvest national average, and imposed ban on imports for phytosanitary reasons.

Every year in Russia, according to the Agriculture Ministry of Russian Federation, it is grown about 30 million tons of potatoes, 25 million tons of which belong to private households and are not intended for sale. The remaining 5-5.5 million tons are not enough for the commodity turnover and industrial processing. According to the Federal Customs Service of Russian Federation, the country still imports about 400,000 tons of potatoes a year. The main importers for Russia are the producers of the Netherlands and Germany.

 

www.retail.ru

Auchan plans to open new stores in Russia

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The retailer Auchan plans to open 10-14 new hypermarkets in Russia next year, the general director of Auchan Russia, Jean-Pierre Germain, said during a press conference in Moscow on November,18.

Agreements have already been signed concerning the building of 3 ‘classic’ Auchan hypermarkets, 3 Auchan City hypermarkets, and 4 Our Rainbow (Nasha Raduga) stores, Germain said.

A company’s priority is continual development and the opening of 10 new hypermarkets per year, Auchan Russia President Francois Colombie said.

Auchan will grow its chain by 23 new stores in all, this year, factoring in the Real hypermarkets it has acquired. In late November 2012 the French company announced it was buying the Real hypermarkets from Germany’s Metro Group. The deal was worth 1.1 billion Euro and involved outlets in Russia, Poland, Romania, and Ukraine. The rebranding of all 16 Real hypermarkets in Russia has been completed.

The French company has been a presence in Russia since 2002. It now has 53 Auchan hypermarkets, 18 Auchan City hypermarkets, 4 Our Rainbow hypermarkets, and 4 Auchan Garden (Auchan Sad) stores.

www.freshplaza.com

Magnit grows

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FMCG-retailer “Magnit” has published results of its financial activity within October and 10 months in 2013. In October revenues of the retailer have increased by 26.73% — up to 48.6 billion rubles. During this period the company has earned 465.7 billion rubles. It is by 30.19% more than during the same period last year.
During October, 2013 the company opened 93 new stores. The overall amount of stores in the chain equals 7,739.
Following the results of 2013 “Magnit” plans to increase its revenues by 28-29%.

www.retailer.ru

Dixy receives international recognition

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Russian FMCG-retailer Dixy has been declared as «The Best European retail network» and awarded Conecta Premios during the international trade forum «Fruit Attraction» held in Madrid.

As the company says, Dixy has been implementing the direct import of vegetables and fruit since 2010. Right now, 120 companies from 23 countries are suppliers of Dixy. The share of these categories in the company’s net turnover is 13%. Bananas, apples, and tomatoes are all-seasons sales leaders in quantitative and monetary terms.

«Fruit and vegetables are strategically important products in «next to home» stores, but most of fruit and vegetables simply don’t grow in Russia due to its’ climate. That’s why we see a bigger potential in cooperating with European partners», – said Marat Magkeyev, the vice president of logistics and international communication department.

The winners of Conecta Premios among retail networks were chosen by voting of producing companies and suppliers. Grupo El Árbol (“Best quality and freshness”), Carrefour (“Innovative idea”), NaturaSí (“Stable project of ecological supermarket”) and Grupo El Corte Inglés (“Cooperation with supplier”) also became the winners this year.

www.retailer.ru

Auchan develops online sales in Russia

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Aresh Alamir has been appointed as a director of e-commerce sales of “Auchan Russia”. Aresh Alamir is also a marketing director and a member of the board of directors at “Auchan Russia”.

Representatives of “Auchan Russia” say that the new appointment has been created because the company pays a lot of attention to the development of e-commerce and sees this direction as an important one.

The new project will involve almost all kinds of products including food, whereas before customers could order online only furniture and garden items.

www.fruitnews.ru

Searches at Sofiyskaya warehouses

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The Main Investigations Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation reports that are searches conducted at the vegetable warehouse Sofiyskaya in St. Petersburg. The searches are conducted as a part of a fraud criminal case investigation.

According to investigation officers, the criminal case has been initiated over an unreasonable VAT refund by persons acting on behalf of OOO “Nika-Frukt” in 2011-2012. The VAT refund amounted to almost 80 million rubles from the federal budget of the Russian Federation.

The goal of the searches conducted at the vegetable warehouse Sofiyskaya is to discover and impound any items and documents related to the criminal case, as well as those items which are prohibited from civil circulation.

Also the police are going to check the adherence to immigration laws at the vegetable warehouse Sofiyskaya.

Representatives of the Azerbaijani diaspora, which are doing business at the warehouse Sofiyskaya, have stated that according to their information sources the city authorities are going to close the vegetable warehouse Sofiyskaya as well as the vegetable warehouse on Salova street.

www.regions.ru

IV Business Forum – FRESH FOOD RUSSIA 2013

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The event will take place on November 14 and 15, 2013.

FRESH FOOD RUSSIA is an annual business forum dedicated to fresh produce and ready to serve meals in retail trade chains. It’s a unique event for the Russian retail market and it takes place in Moscow.

This year the main topics will be:

  • What should be changed in your store to make sales of fresh and ultra-fresh products more efficient?
  • How to profit from the growing demand and beat the competition in the market?
  • Your own production: everything from new ways to organize your sales to the most attractive recipes for buyers.

There will be three event conferences:

  • FRESH AND ULTRA-FRESH: new concepts, new products and efficient business processes.
  • YOUR OWN READY TO SERVE MEALS PRODUCTION: new approaches to sales organization and the most popular recipes.
  • BRANDED RETAIL FOR FRESH PRODUCERS: store formats and interaction with large retailers.

Also:

  • Special session: negotiations with suppliers.
  • Presentation of new solutions for your own production.
  • Degustation of new products in the Russian market.
  • Grocery retailer store tour in Moscow.

 

Learn more about the event here: www.b2bcg.ru

Russian retailers see Washington harvest

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Produce buyers from five Russian retail chains, who came to Washington State this week to learn about the tree fruit industry, said they were impressed by the technology in orchards and packing houses, as well as by the openness of the people.

This was the first trip to the United States for the buyers, who represent four retailers in western Russia and one in the Russian Far East. They were accompanied by Ksenia Gorovaya of CrispConsulting, who represents the Washington Apple Commission and Pear Bureau Northwest in Russia.

Rebecca Lyons, export marketing manager with the Apple Commission, said such reverse trade missions are fairly rare and are usually arranged for buyers in new markets where the tree fruit industry doesn’t have many existing contacts.

Russia is an established market, but Gorovaya said what’s new is that retailers are beginning to import directly from suppliers. Traditionally, fruit has been shipped through importers and then wholesalers before reaching retailers.

“Now, they’re cutting out the middle man,” she said. However, it will be a gradual process because importers are still strong and the retail industry is not consolidated. No single retailer in Russia has more than a 5 percent market share.

www.goodfruit.com

Closure of Pokrovskaya benefits large retailers

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After the fruit and vegetable warehouse Pokrovskaya in Biryulyovo was closed, “RBC Daily” has talked to those whose businesses are somehow influenced by what is going on in the Russian fruit and vegetable market: wholesalers, restaurant owners , suppliers, managers of still operating fruit and vegetable warehouses, etc.

It turned out that owners of small retail stores, non-chain restaurants and vegetable kiosks are those who have faced the major problems, as they were purchasing their goods directly in Biryulyovo. Right now they still can’t find an alternative source of supply for the same old price.

However, big retail market players are the winners in this situation. They have pointed out that there is an increase in demand, which is, in their opinion, due to the shift of the customers who used to purchase products in convenience stores near their homes and at the market. For example, METRO Cash & Carry say that they are observing a tendency of an increasing demand for fresh vegetables and fruits.

www.retailer.ru

 

Georgian fruit exports to Russia resumed

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Georgian fruit and citrus fruit exports to Russia will be resumed on October 14th with permission of Rosselkhoznadzor. According to Rosselkhoznadzor representatives the first fruit to be exported to Russia will be mandarins.

The import of Georgian vegetables, fruit, water, and wine was banned in 2006 over quality issues. In 2013 Rosselkhoznadzor experts inspected a number of Georgian enterprises. As a result the embargo on Georgian tea and nuts was cancelled in the middle of 2013.

The renewal of Georgian exports will be in autumn and winter, when citrus fruit, especially mandarins, are in high demand in Russia. Georgia intends to export 70,000 tons of mandarins to Russia in 2013.

www.itar-tass.com