Moscow, 27 June 2024 – X5 Group announces a new store opening in a bid to expand its network of franchise stores under the Okolo brand. On Thursday, the 200th small-format store was opened at 1 Oshchepkova Street in Moscow, with the ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Igor Pletnev, Director of X5 for Business.
The 130-square metre store offers about 2,700 SKUs, including food, beverages, groceries, household chemicals and other essentials. The new Okolo store operates under the direct franchise model, whereby the partner runs the store independently. X5 supplies goods to the stores and also provides in-store equipment, cash registers, and POS materials. Franchisees receive access to X5’s exclusive direct import products as well as competitive landscape research and other analytical tools offered by the Company. Apart from direct franchising, X5 also offers a master franchise model, where goods are delivered to an Okolo store by X5’s regional partner. Currently, the direct franchise model is mostly preferred in Moscow, the Moscow Region, and the Republic of Bashkortostan; in Okolo’s other operating regions, the master franchise model is more popular.
Recently, Okolo stores also began to join the X5 Club customer loyalty programme, which covers more than 79 million customers of X5’s Pyaterochka and Perekrestok retail chains. After the pilot results are reviewed and technical integration is completed, users will gain access to the various loyalty programme levels and favourite product categories offered by X5 Club and will be able to redeem bonus points in Okolo stores.
The Okolo business was created to combine private entrepreneurship with the resources and capabilities of a nationwide retailer. Currently, Okolo-branded stores operate in 11 regions of Russia: the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Republic of Karelia, the Vologda, Voronezh, Leningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Novgorod, Novosibirsk, and Samara Regions, and Moscow and the Moscow Region.