Russia retailer X5 Retail Group’s Like-For-Like (LFL) sales rose 12 per cent in rouble terms in the first quarter.
Consolidated net retail sales increased 48 per cent year-on-year in rouble terms to RUB111,989m and 51 per cent in US dollar terms to $3,826.
Organic sales increased 29 per cent in rouble terms while Kopeyka’s first quarter sales contributed approximately 19 per cent to X5’s consolidated net retail sales growth.
CEO Andrei Gusev said: “Sales grew 48 per cent in rouble terms in the first quarter or 29 per cent excluding Kopeyka, led by a strong recovery in supermarket Like-For-Like sales growth and sustained performance of discounters. Following a thorough analysis, X5 made the decision to execute Kopeyka integration plan by the end of 2011.”
“The rebranding of an initial 45 Kopeyka stores in the first quarter delivered instant improvements in Like-For-Like sales performance, giving us confidence in the value of accelerating the integration timetable,” added Gusev.
Supermarkets demonstrated strong performance in Q1 2011 with 19 per cent LFL growth on a 9 per cent rise in traffic and 10 per cent basket increase as Russian consumers continued trading up. LFL sales growth was particularly impressive in St. Petersburg area with 36 percent total LFL sales growth on 16 per cent traffic and 20 per cent basket improvement.
– IndiaRetailing Bureau
