O`KEY Group expands its presence in the North-West

O`KEY Group S.A. (LSE: OKEY, the ‘Group’), one of the leading Russian food retailers, announces changes to its hypermarket business in Q2 2020.

As part of its hypermarket performance improvement strategy, O`KEY has concluded a deal with X5 Retail Group to acquire the Karusel hypermarket on 43 Rustaveli St. in Saint Petersburg. It will boost O`KEY’s position in the strategically important region, keeping the Group on track with its expansion priorities.

O`KEY obtained the property, measuring 10,703 sq. m overall, with plans to open a hypermarket with 4,420 sq. m of selling space. The move brings the chain’s total selling space in the Northwestern Federal District to around 185,000 sq. m. The deal fits into both the strategic priorities of O’KEY Group as well as the X5 Retail Group plan for the transformation of Karusel.

The new O’KEY in Saint Petersburg is scheduled to welcome its first customers in late June.

Earlier this year, O`KEY shut down two hypermarkets in the Southern Federal District – in Volgograd and in Stavropol. The decision to close them was driven by the Company’s strategy to improve the business performance of its hypermarkets and prioritising the development of the retail chain in the key regions of its presence. O`KEY has paid out all statutory redundancy benefits to the affected employees, and on top of that, has made every effort to help them find employment with other companies.


Armin Burger, Chief Executive Officer of O`KEY Group, said:

‘We are continuing to focus on developing the format and concept of city hypermarkets, which we believe offer strong potential in the food retail market. By opening new hypermarkets in regions with a market environment receptive to this format, O`KEY will be able to strengthen its brand’s market position and improve the Group’s overall business performance.’


OVERVIEW

O`KEY Group S.A. (LSE: OKEY, RAEX – ‘ruA-’) operates under two main formats: hypermarkets under the O`KEY brand and discounters under the DA! brand.

As at 27 May 2020, the Group operates 175 stores across Russia (76 hypermarkets and 99 discounters). The Group opened its first hypermarket in St. Petersburg in 2002 and has since demonstrated continuous growth. O`KEY is the first among Russian food retailers to launch and actively develop e-commerce operations in St. Petersburg and Moscow, offering a full range of hypermarket products for home delivery. The Group operates six e-commerce pick-up points in Moscow and six e-commerce pick-up points in St. Petersburg. The Group operates four distribution centres across the Russian Federation – two in Moscow and two in St. Petersburg. As at 27 May 2020, the Group employs more than 20,000 people.

For the full year 2019, revenue totalled RUB 165,086,202 thousand, EBITDA reached RUB 14,061,431 thousand, and the net profit for the period amounted to RUB 746,958 thousand.

The O`KEY shareholder structure is as follows: NISEMAX Co Ltd – 44.79%, GSU Ltd – 29.52%, free float – 25.69%.



For further information please contact:

Alla Golovatenko 

Head of Public Relations 

+7 495 663 6677 ext. 496 

alla.golovatenko@okmarket.ru