Moscow, 15 August 2023 – X5 Group (“X5” or the “Company”, LSE and MOEX ticker: FIVE), a leading Russian food retailer, announces the opening of its first hard discounters under the Chizhik brand in the Rostov Region and Krasnodar Territory, as well as the opening of a new distribution centre in Krasnodar to serve its Chizhik stores. On Tuesday, the retailer opened two stores in Bataisk and one store apiece in Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar, Novokubansk, the settlement of Yablonovsky, and the Cossack village of Novotitarovskaya.
The new stores will be supplied from Chizhik’s distribution centre in Krasnodar with shipments from both nationwide and local suppliers. The 14,845 square metre distribution centre has capacity to handle shipments from over 200 suppliers and serve up to 250 stores in the retail chain across the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, as well as in the Rostov Region.
Chizhik plans to open 22 more stores in the Rostov Region and 30 stores in the Krasnodar Territory before the end of August, aiming to bring the total store count in the regions to 49 and 65 stores by year-end, respectively. In 2023, the retailer expects to create over 1,200 new jobs for local communities in these two regions.
Chizhik’s business model is based on offering a small but sought-after selection of products. The retailer delivers low prices for its customers thanks to business process optimisation and relentless in-store cost cutting, while the large share of private labels in its assortment enables Chizhik to offer only those products that meet its high standards of quality and charge fair prices and markups. The product assortment at each store features approximately 700 SKUs, including over 400 private label items that have already become popular with Chizhik customers. These include Svetaevo, Verner, Shchedry God, Greenola, Axl, Tafo, and others. Chizhik also stands out for its unique Nado Uspet (“Catch the Price”) zone that highlights the best deals in household, kitchen, garden goods, and other products – all in one place.