Magnit expands store portfolio

Russian retailer Magnit has increased its store portfolio to over 3,000 retail outlets, the company said in a statement. About two-thirds of Magnit’s stores are located in cities with population of less than 500,000 inhabitants. Most of its stores are located in the Southern, Central and Volga regions. In the wake of the financial crisis in Russia, Magnit has changed its strategy for 2009 and started to develop stores with smaller formats than hypermarkets. It has opened almost 400 supermarkets and neighbourhood stores since the beginning of this year, more than previous years. Magnit remains Russia's leading retailer in terms of number of stores. X5 Retail Group, the leading retailer in Russia in terms of revenue, operates around 1,800 stores.