Russian retailer Fix Price saw its like-for-like sales rise by more than a fifth (+20.6%) in the third quarter of its financial year, boosted by a 15.9% in like-for-like average basket size. Like-for-like traffic was up 4.1%.
The discount variety chain, which also operates in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Uzbekistan, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan, said that it was able to 'quickly adapt' to the COVID-19 conditions, enabling it to post its 13th successive period of double-digit like-for-like sales growth.
High-Demand Products
"We introduced a new range of high-demand products, secured uninterrupted supplies of goods, and most importantly ensured the safety of our customers and employees," commented Fix Price CEO Dmitry Kirsanov.
"In the third quarter of 2020, we continued to see additional support for the variety value retail segment on the back of growing price awareness among customers and higher demand and consumption of goods at more affordable prices."
Nine-Month Performance
Over the first nine months of the year, Fix Price saw like-for-like sales up 15.9%, with traffic down 1.6% and average basket up 17.8%.
It opened 453 stores in the first nine months of the year, to give it a total store count of 3,965 as of the end of Q3, of which 390 stores are franchised.
“Fix Price has grown from a small company into an international retail chain with a leading position in Russia’s variety value market, and we intend to continue consolidating our market leadership," said Kirsanov.
“We have continued to expand our store network in Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, and also opened our first stores in Uzbekistan."
Last year, Fix Price, which was founded in 2007, recorded revenue of RUB 142.9 billion (€1.57 billion), EBITDA of RUB 27.2 billion (€300 million) and net profit of RUB 13.2 billion (€140 million).
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Pictures by Fix Price. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.