X5 Retail Group avoided effects of the crunch says CEO

X5 Retail Group has said that its multi-format strategy had allowed it to circumvent some of the harsher effects that the economic downturn has had on consumer spending in the country. Speaking to analysts, CEO Lev Khasis acknowledged that Russian consumer confidence had been badly hit by the economic crisis – with the consumer confidence index (CCI) reaching its lowest point in the first quarter 2009 since 1999. However, he added that there is some cause for optimism, as in the second and third quarters the CCI “marginally recovered”, indicating that a growing number of Russians believe the economy will improve next year. Despite this increasing tendency to trade down among Russian consumers, X5 has been able to post relatively stable like-for-like sales growth since the onset of the economic crisis, outperforming its competition, Lev Khasis claimed. During the first nine months of the year, X5 like-for-like sales rose 9%, which is the highest LFL growth among Russia retailers.