Moscow, 06 April 2023 – X5 Group (“X5” or the “Company”, LSE and MOEX ticker: FIVE), a leading Russian food retailer, announces the completion of its Karusel hypermarket chain transformation. Over the past few years, the Company consistently reduced the chain’s store count, with the last remaining Karusel-branded hypermarket closing in late February this year and the format completely shut down by early April.
Igor Shekhterman, CEO of X5 Group, commented:
“The Karusel hypermarket chain was launched 19 years ago, when large shopping trips to stock up on food supplies became very popular among shoppers. As the market offering evolved, consumers came to increasingly value freshness and their own time. More and more shoppers started to prefer the choice, value and convenience offered by proximity stores, discounters and online channels while still valuing urban supermarkets. To meet our customers’ demands, we redirected investments into developing these particular formats. In 2019, we began the transformation of the Karusel chain. We now turn the page on this chapter of X5’s history and thank everyone who contributed to its success. We believe that by developing the more popular formats where we already enjoy an edge, X5 will be able to offer the widest possible choice of high-quality products in line with the current consumer trend towards saving and reasonable consumption.”
As at the end of September 2019, X5 operated 91 Karusel hypermarkets. As a result of the transformation effort, more than 40 hypermarkets were transferred to the Perekrestok retail chain and are now operating as supermarkets. Some stores were converted to other uses within the organisation, for instance, as dark stores for the Vprok.ru online hypermarket, while others were sold or closed down. More than half of the Karusel workforce were rehired in other divisions and retail chains within X5 Group or received assistance in finding new jobs.