Petersburg and 3 in the Russian provinces

"Watch the tail to the Fund and you'll see the success of Auchan in Russia! Sergei Ryzhkov is one of five to twenty clients wait between five to each Fund in the hypermarket strategically placed on one of the inner devices of Moscow. Outside, cars jostle in a more or less organized chaos. Inside, consumers to urge in methodically filled aisles in ras edges. "This is the ideal place for our weekly family races: the hypermarket is well located and easy access, the assortment of products is various and complete.". The prices are lower than elsewhere... ", smiles this Moscow which thus summarized the main ingredients of the"success story"of Auchan in Russia.

Eight years after having opened its first hypermarket in the suburbs of Moscow, the French, controlled by the Mulliez family, emerged as the number two of the Russia distribution, in terms of sales volume, just behind the Russian giant X 5, property of the oligarch Mikhail Fridman Alfa Group. This is the conclusion of the classification of "vedomosti", just to reveal the financial details of the success of Auchan. According to the renowned Russian economic newspaper, the monthly average incomes of the distributor in 2009 if 170.000 between 15 and 20 billion rubles (from 375 to 500 million euros), or a turnover per square metre between 600,000 and 800,000 roubles (from 15,000 to 20,000 euros), more than double the average of X 5. "vedomosti" obtained these data, a very discreet deemed Distributor, from the information transmitted in a recent judicial dispute between the chain and the tax authorities. "Pas comment", merely to respond to the "echoes" the spokesman for the group.

Number two

"Auchan is probably the number two of the Russia distribution, with revenues that we consider more than 5.5 billion euros for 2009", confirms Ivan Nikolaev, analyst of the sector in the Russian Bank Aton. "The Group was able to impose very early by choosing the correct format, the hypermaché, at a time when Moscow was suffering from a deficit of stores of this type", he added. His eyes, the other reasons for the success of the sign are good choices of location of sales outlets and a wide offer of products. "These two elements allow to have almost permanently a strong traffic in the store." "A formula efficiently and cost-effectively, even though low prices grow margins down around 20 for Auchan, against 25 for X 5", said the expert.

Today, the potential for expansion of the French Distributor is multiple. In Moscow, even if the market appears to be yet, but especially in regions. Auchan Russia has thus launched its 39emagasin in the capital (a point of sale bought at Carrefour, which withdrew from the country), and prepares to open other six this year, including 2 others Mosou, 1 in St. Petersburg, and 3 in the Russian provinces. In eight years, the chain has also diversified its format: 24 hypermarkets (up to 20,000 m2) are added 13 City Auchan (between 3,000 and 6,000 m2). In addition, it has launched a new format since last December still more discount in two medium-sized cities (Penza and Kaluga), under the name Raduga, where the client pay directly to posts by scanning it even products. A test formula which could be declined throughout the group.