KAZAN: X5 Retail Group, a leading Russian food retailer, has expanded its logistics infrastructure in the Volga Federal District with a Pyaterochka distribution centre (DC) in Zelenodolsk, a town not far from Kazan.

Boasting a total area of some 39,500 sq m, the DC features eight storage zones with a specific temperature band in each one. It also contains a banana ripening room and is able to accommodate dry goods, alcoholic beverages, fresh products, frozen goods, caviar, as well as fruits and vegetables.

The Kazan DC is already supplying products to Pyaterochka stores in over 100 cities and towns across the republics of Tatarstan, Udmurtia, Mari El and Chuvashia, handling up to 5,000 tonnes of goods per day and servicing 1,200 stores.

The seamless operation of the centre is ensured by more than 500 employees and some 100 vehicles. Overall, Pyaterochka has generated upwards of 8,000 jobs in the Republic of Tatarstan.

At full capacity, the logistics facility will be able to handle products from about 600 suppliers, increasing the share of local Tatarstan producers from the current level of 30%. Today, X5 works with about 100 local suppliers, 19 of whom were added to the supplier list in 2018.

The opening ceremony was attended by Rustam Minnikhanov, President of the Republic of Tatarstan, Alexander Ilyin, X5 GR Director, Sergei Goncharov, General Director of Pyaterochka, and representatives of suppliers from the Volga Federal District.

After the ceremony, the Kazan DC hosted the X5 Dialogue Forum, where local producers received valuable advice on working with the retail chain. They discussed quality, transportation, storage, sales and disposal requirements for food products, as set out in the Customs Union’s and X5’s applicable technical regulations.