Miratorg invests in Russian retail chain

01-Nov-2012 - Last updated on 01-Nov-2012 at 09:36 GMT

One of Russia’s largest meat producers, Miratorg, has announced plans to create its own retail chain to sell its meat in major Russian cities.

The company said it is hoping to open 500 specialist meat outlets in the next three years, with the average investment in each shop estimated to be RUB20m (US$660,000).

Miratorg spokesperson Dmitry Lgovski told GlobalMeatNews.com the company would prioritise development of stores in Russia’s biggest cities.

“According to company president Viktor Linnik, within three years we plan to open 500 stores, with investments in the retail chain amounting to RUB10bn (US$330m). The shopping facilities will be opened in the cities with a population of more than 1m in the European part of Russia, but the biggest-priority regions [where the largest number of shops will be created] will be Moscow and St Petersburg. To date the company has already opened 22 stores in Moscow and the Moscow region,” he said.

Lgovski added that if the new project was supported by the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, it would increase investment to RUB20bn (US$660m) and open 1,000 stores in different Russian cities by 2015.

“If the government supports this initiative, the company will increase investment to RUB20bn (US$660m), so that the number of stores will also double. Stores will be located both on land owned by the company, and on rented land. The average area of the store will be 500-600 square metres, with the majority of store space given to Miratorg’s own meat and meat products,” he explained.

Despite the scale of the project, however, Lgovski said that Miratorg would still not have a significant position in the total Russian retail market.