Eurotorg, Belarus' largest retailer, has posted like-for-like sales growth of 4.8% in the second quarter of its financial year, driven by an increase in both store traffic and basket size.
Like-for-like traffic was up 1.3% in the second quarter (compared to a 9.7% decline in the second quarter of 2017), while the average basket size rose by 3.5% (+11.4% in Q2 2017), the retailer said.
The group posted just over BYN 1 billion (€430 million) in sales for the quarter, which was a net sales increase of 11.3% on the same period last year.
“The second quarter of 2018 saw a continued pick-up in the pace of LFL sales growth and further robust expansion of our retail operations," said Andrei Zubkou, Eurotorg chief executive.
"Operational performance remained strong, with net retail sales increasing by 11.3% during the period and breaking through the billion-BYN mark for the first quarter in the company’s history, and like-for-like sales up by 4.8%."
Earlier this month, Eurotorg announced a €20 million loan agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Rural Expansion
Zubkou added that the group is continuing to "focus [its] expansion on rural areas", as it seeks to grow its store network. Some 57% of the 107 new stores added in the second quarter were opened in rural areas and 'under-penetrated settlements'.
As of 30 June 2018, the company operated a total of 627 stores with total selling space of just over 300,000 square metres. It accelerated its expansion programme in the second quarter, with an increase of 7.1% in selling space between the end of Q1 and the end of Q2.
Almost all of the newly-added stores are located in leased premises, which is in keeping with the group's 'asset-light' strategy, the company said.
First-Half Performance
In the first half, Eurotorg saw its like-for-like sales up 5.9%, driven by both an increase in traffic (+0.4%) and average basket size (+5.5%).
Net retail sales were BYN 1.9 billion for the period, a reported increase of 11.4% year-on-year.
In the retailer's statement, Zubkou noted that GlobalCapital named Eurotorg the 'Most Impressive Debut Issuer in Emerging Markets' at its annual Bond Awards in May.
"This award from GlobalCapital both provides well-deserved recognition of our team’s hard work and highlights Belarus’s economic and investment potential," he said.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
