Moscow, 11 September 2024 – X5 Group, a leading Russian food retailer, announces that it has signed a strategic partnership with Trading House Bashspirt LLC. The agreement provides for the use of X5’s Okolo franchise in a major refurbishment and rebranding effort covering the Tantana retail chain, which operates 142 stores in the Republic of Bashkortostan. As a result, the stores will be co-branded as Tantana Okolo. The document was signed by Igor Pletnev, Managing Director of X5 for Business, and Denis Bulatov, Director of Trading House Bashspirt.
X5 for Business will provide its partner with funds to invest up to RUB 150 million in upgrading in-store equipment for the Tantana Okolo chain. The chain will also benefit from access to supplies from X5’s product mix, including direct import products, as well as to X5’s analytics and forecasting system, which will enable Tantana Okolo to create an optimal assortment and boost its store economics.
Igor Pletnev, Managing Director of X5 for Business, commented:
“The Republic of Bashkortostan is an important region in driving the growth of the Okolo franchise. As of now, X5 for Business has its own distribution centre in Bashkortostan, which supplies a full range of food and beverages to 178 stores operating under the Okolo brand. The strategic partnership with Bashspirt will strengthen the Okolo franchise as regards both its value proposition and regional coverage.”
The Okolo franchise leverages the resources and capabilities of the largest nationwide retailer to develop small-format stores managed by independent entrepreneurs or regional retailers. Currently, 398 Okolo-branded stores operate in 16 regions of Russia: the Republic of Adygea, the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Republic of Karelia, the Krasnodar Territory, the Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Voronezh, Kemerovo, Leningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Novgorod, Samara, and Tver Regions, and Moscow and the Moscow Region.