Russian group X5 has revealed that it enjoyed a successful year in 2010, with consolidated net retail sales growth of 24 per cent to RUR341.6bn (€8.5bn), record organic store openings and the acquisition of the Kopeyka chain.
According to the retailer, full-year like-for-like sales climbed by 7 per cent on a year-on-year basis, while customer traffic through the year grew by 3 per cent.
X5 added 1,097 stores on a net organic basis and through the acquisition Kopeyka, including 353 soft discounters, 26 supermarkets, 13 hypermarkets, 45 convenience stores and 660 Kopeyka outlets – a net addition of 492,122m2 of selling space.
'Q4 2010 was a milestone quarter for X5 marked by a 35 per cent increase in RUR net sales. Growth was driven by a recovery in consumer spending, record store openings and the acquisition of Kopeyka to reinforce X5's number one position and complement our organic growth strategy,' said CEO Lev Khasis. 'As a result, we successfully delivered on the company's full-year 2010 outlook with consolidated net retail sales growth of 24 per cent in ruble terms, or 22 per cent excluding initial Kopeyka sales contribution.
'X5 begins 2011 in an excellent position to accelerate growth,' he added. 'We plan to significantly increase the pace of organic expansion with some 540 new store openings this year. This together with the Kopeyka acquisition should enable X5 to deliver in excess of RUR 500bn in gross sales, representing top-line growth of approximately 40 per cent.'
