NOVOSIBIRSK: X5 Retail Group, a leading Russian food retailer, has expanded its logistics infrastructure in the Siberian Federal District with a Pyaterochka distribution centre (DC) in Novosibirsk.

The 38,500 sq m Tolmachevo DC will be used by Pyaterochka stores in the Novosibirsk, Omsk, Tomsk and Kemerovo regions, Krasnoyarsk and Altai territories, and the republics of Altai and Khakassia, handling up to 5,000 tonnes of goods per day. Its capacity enables it to service up to 1,200 retail outlets (as at 30 June 2019, the retail chain had 583 stores in Siberia).

Featuring eight storage zones, each with a specific temperature band, this modern centre can accommodate dry goods and alcoholic beverages, fresh and frozen products, caviar, fruit and vegetables and has a banana ripening room.

The new site will be a hub for local suppliers seeking to keep up with the rapid pace of Pyaterochka’s expansion in Siberia. At full capacity, it will be able to handle products from 700+ suppliers, driving the share of the Novosibirsk region’s producers up from about 20%. Today, X5 works with 62 local suppliers, of which 44 were added to the supplier list in 2018.

The seamless operation of the centre is ensured by more than 500 employees and some 100 vehicles. To date, Pyaterochka has created over 6,000 jobs in Siberia, with nearly 2,000 in the Novosibirsk region.

The opening ceremony was attended by Sergey Syomka, Deputy Governor of the Novosibirsk Region, Alexander Ilyin, X5 GR Director, Alexey Drobotay, Executive Director at Pyaterochka, and Julia Tuleneva, Pyaterochka’s Director for the Siberia macro-region, as well as managers of more than 170 suppliers from the Siberian Federal District who were invited by X5 Retail Group.

After the ceremony, the Tolmachevo DC hosted the X5 Dialogue Forum, where local manufacturers were given advice on working with the retail chain and quality, transportation, storage, sales and disposal requirements for food products as set out in the Customs Union’s and X5’s applicable technical regulations.