French retail giant Carrefour is planning to launch a third Russian store this year in Lipetsk, a city 500km to the south of Moscow, which is set to open during the autumn.
The announcement follows earlier revelations that the group would be opening hypermarkets in Moscow and in the southern city of Krasnodar, Reuters reported.
Carrefour's debut Moscow store is set for a May launch, and will see 450 new staff hired, while the proposed 9,000m2 hypermarket in Lipetsk will follow later in the year.
'Carrefour group considers Russia as one of the priority markets for company development,' the group said in a statement. 'A hypermarket in Lipetsk will become the third store for Carrefour in Russia.'
The French group, the world's second biggest retailer behind Wal-Mart, has also been linked with the purchase of Moscow-based grocery chain Seventh Continent, according to banking sources in the country.
