MOSCOW: X5 Retail Group, a leading Russian food retailer operating the Pyaterochka, Perekrestok, and Karusel chains, has launched a logistics hub in Novorossiysk to handle the Company’s imports and ensure their smooth delivery to X5 distribution centres.
The 18,000 sq. m hub has eight storage chambers coupled with two quality control and repackaging zones. Each of them features state-of-the-art refrigerators that support individual temperature adjustment based on the season of the year and specific storage requirements.
The seamless operation of the hub is ensured by nearly 280 employees and over 30 vehicles. The facility now processes some 1,000 tonnes of cargo per day and is designed to handle deliveries from more than 150 suppliers.
Previously, this work was carried out at three different sites. In addition to increasing X5’s storage and processing capacity, the hub will enable better control over the quality of products supplied to X5 stores.
“We strive to offer the freshest and finest foods to our customers, and the new hub has just made this easier by speeding up distribution. In the fruit and vegetables category, with its specific transportation and storage requirements, this will help to both reduce shrinkage and ensure that we bring even more fresh products to our shelves. About a third of all X5’s fruit and vegetable imports now come through the Novorossiysk hub,” said Artem Pereslavtsev, Managing Director at X5 IMPORT.
The share of direct imports in the turnover of X5’s retail chains stood at 5.3% in 2020. Suppliers from the key importing countries supply mainly fruit and vegetables. These include bananas from Ecuador, citrus and stone fruit from Turkey, peppers, root vegetables and exotic fruit from Israel, potatoes and citrus fruit from Egypt, and apples from Serbia.