Russian retailer Lenta has posted a 21.2% increase in total sales in FY2016, to RUB 306.4 billion, with a like-for-like sales growth of 3.9% compared to the previous year.
The group opened a net 51 hypermarkets and 17 supermarkets during the year.
Its fourth quarter sales showed a total sales increase of 20.9% to RUB 90.8 billion, with like-for-like sales growth of 1.7%.
Lenta’s total store count as of 31 December 2016 was 240, comprising of 191 hypermarkets and 49 supermarkets.
In December, the group completed the largest acquisition in its history, purchasing the Kesko food retail business in Russia, which comprises 11 hypermarkets in Saint-Petersburg. The stores were converted to Lenta outlets in six days, and the group said that initial trading results ‘have exceeded our expectations’.
“We are very pleased with the results of the fourth quarter – Lenta sales growth increased to 21% while we also opened a record number of new stores, completed the acquisition of Kesko’s food retail business and exceeded our strategic goal of doubling selling space in the 3 years to December 2016,” said Lenta chief executive Jan Dunning.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign-up for ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
