The German trading concern Rewe Group leaves Russia after 17 years of work in the Russian market. Its Austrian subsidiary Rewe International announced on May 19 that it has sold 161 Billa supermarkets in Moscow and the Moscow region to the Russian retail chain Lenta. Last fall, Billa left Ukraine, where it had 35 supermarkets in Kiev. Henceforth, this brand will be presented only in the EU countries.
The Lenta chain of stores received 161 supermarkets in Moscow and the Moscow region
In an official press release from Rewe International, board member Espen B. Larsen explained the decision to wind up business in Russia as follows: “Our strategic goal is to achieve leading positions in the market and the highest possible synergetic effect. The market situation in Russia, the size of its market, interconnections on it and its development trends do not allow this to be achieved, despite high investments. “
In EU countries, Billa supermarkets (pictured: store in Linz, Austria) have long ceased to be discounters
Rewe International did not answer >’s question about the size of these investments. However, it can be assumed that since 2004 they have clearly exceeded the 215 million euros that were paid for 161 supermarkets and the Billa logistics center in Bykov, near Moscow, the St. Petersburg retail chain Lenta, controlled by Alexei Mordashov’s investment company Severgroup. According to the Russian newspaper Kommersant, the Billa Russia company received 47.97 billion rubles in revenue in 2020 and 1.69 billion in net loss, which roughly corresponded to the results for the previous period. The deal has yet to be approved by the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia (FAS).
The acquisition of Billa Russia supermarkets will give us access to a mature chain of stores with a steady flow of customers, including in the central districts of Moscow, and will allow us to double the total number of Lenta supermarkets. “The opportunity to expand online delivery to the entire territory of Moscow, which is part of our ambitious plan to significantly develop online business in the coming years,” said Lenta CEO Vladimir Sorokin. He welcomed 5,400 Billa employees to the company.
Ceconomy closes Media Markt electronics stores in Russia
Rewe Group is the second major German investor to wind up its business in the Russian retail market in three years. In the summer of 2018, Ceconomy transferred its Russian consumer electronics stores Media Markt to rival M.Video and acquired a 15% stake in this Russian company. However, Rewe International, unlike Ceconomy, is not going to stay in Russia even as a financial investor.
The headquarters of the Rewe Group is located in Cologne
“We have decided to focus on the full-range store segment in the successful EU markets and to focus our funds on these countries,” said Espen B. Larsen. At the end of 2020, the total revenue of the Rewe trade and tourism group, headquartered in Cologne, for the first time exceeded 75 billion euros, and the number of employees reached 384 thousand people.
The main owner of Severgroup, Aleksey Mordashov, has extensive contacts in German business circles. He controls 30% of the shares of the German tourism concern TUI – the world leader in the industry.
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