The retailer Auchan plans to open ten to fourteen new hypermarkets in Russia next year, the general director of Auchan Russia, Jean-Pierre Germain, said during a press conference in Moscow on Nov.18.
Agreements have already been signed concerning the building of three 'classic' Auchan hypermarkets, three Auchan City hypermarkets, and four Our Rainbow (Nasha Raduga) stores, Germain said.
A company priority is continual development and the opening of ten new hypermarkets per year, Auchan Russia President Francois Colombie said.
Auchan will grow its chain by twenty-three new stores in all, this year, factoring in the Real hypermarkets it has acquired. In late November 2012 the French company announced it was buying the Real hypermarkets from Germany's Metro Group. The deal was worth 1.1 billion Euro and involved outlets in Russia, Poland, Romania, and Ukraine. The rebranding of all sixteen Real hypermarkets in Russia has been completed.
The French company has been a presence in Russia since 2002. It now has fifty-three Auchan hypermarkets, eighteen Auchan City hypermarkets, four Our Rainbow hypermarkets, and four Auchan Garden (Auchan Sad) stores.