The first half of 2011 has proved to be a strong one for two of Russia's leading retail groups, Magnit and X5, with both posting a good set of results.
X5, which is the country's largest supermarket chain by revenue, saw sales grow 41 per cent through the second quarter of the year, driven by higher consumer demand and the acquisition of the Kopeika food chain.
Net retail sales climbed to R112bn (€2.8bn) from R79.8bn (€2bn) last year, although growth rates slowed in the second quarter from the first three months of the year, the group said.
At Magnit, meanwhile, first-half revenues climbed 58.7 per cent year-on-year, attributed to the opening of 405 new stores.
Sales for the period jumped 51 per cent in rouble terms through the half to R157bn (€4bn), while like-for-like sales grew 18.6 per cent on the same period of 2010.
