MOSCOW: X5 Retail Group, a leading Russian food retailer announced that it has opened its first stores in the Kaliningrad region, making it the 66th region of Russia where the company operates. X5 operates the Pyaterochka, Perekrestok and Karusel chains.

The first three stores were opened in the Kaliningrad metropolitan area and two were opened in Zelenogradsk and Chernyakhovsk. The total combined area of the five new stores is over three thousand square metres.

Their assortment ranges from 4,700 to 5,800 SKUs, including locally produced brands such as Baltptitseprom, Za Rodinu, Green Line, MK Baltika and others. Around 40% of the total assortment is locally produced. This includes 60% of the “fresh” category, and nearly 100% of fruits and vegetables. The new stores employ over 90 people.

All the new stores have been opened under the new Pyaterochka concept and they highlight fresh products: the “Fresh” category accounts for nearly half of the sales floor, while vegetables, fruits and other short shelf life foods are displayed at the Fresh Arena. Customers can choose from a wide selection of food-to-go and ready-to-eat, including the locally produced Naturovo brand. The in-store bakery in the centre of the sales floor produces 100 varieties of freshly baked bread and pastries every day.

Next to the fresh bread area there is a coffee zone that also offers freshly squeezed orange juice, where guests can stop for a snack and charge gadgets. The sales floor layout and navigation accommodate the main needs of the store guests and their purchasing missions in a most convenient way. For example, to quickly buy fresh or ready-to-eat food there is no need to wander through the entire sales floor as these categories are displayed at the entrance. On the other hand, stocked-up staples are located along the sales floor perimeter according to the adjacency principle. There is also a “seasonal zone” in the stores with the season or holiday theme assortment rotated every two weeks.

“Over 13 million Russians already trust us when they come to Pyaterochka stores daily. Our mission is to deepen our guests’ trust by offering them fresh and high-quality products at low prices, continuously improving our services, becoming a leader in convenience and caring at low prices, continuously improving our services, becoming a leader in both convenience and community care. Now people in Kaliningrad can also appreciate all these benefits. We started to proactively work with local producers, and thanks to their direct deliveries to our stores we offer our guests great tasting, fresh and high-quality foods,” said Sergey Goncharov, General Director of Pyaterochka.

X5 currently plans to open 10 more stores in the region by the end of the year, which will create about 210 new jobs for the region residents.

The new store locations are:

• Kaliningrad, Starshiny Dadaeva Str, 62;
• Kaliningrad, Moskovsky Prospect, 257;
• Kaliningrad, Dzerzhinskogo Str, 166a;
• Zelenogradsk, Moskovskaya Str, 68;
• Chernyakhovsk, Sportivnaya Str, 1.