X5 Retail Group invests less in 2009

X5 Retail Group has announced that, according to preliminary forecasts, its capital expenditures for 2009 will be around USD500 million, half of what it is investing in 2008. X5 Investor Relations Manager Anna Kareva said that this sum does not include spending on M&A deals; all of it will go into financing organic development. X5 intends to finance the investment programme entirely with its own money. The retailer will spend USD345 million (69%) on opening new stores, USD90 million on IT, and USD65 million on logistics. "We are giving preference to small-format stores, primarily the Pyaterochka discount chain, and most of the stores will be opened on premises that we lease rather than own," said Kareva.

planetretail.net