Perekrestok retail chain began testing the format of small stores located near offices and residential areas. Kommersant writes about this with reference to the message of the parent company X5 Retail Group.
The first store was opened in Moscow, the second will appear in St. Petersburg by the end of the year. They will work under the Jam Perekrestok brand. Their area will be five times smaller than that of supermarkets, and the assortment will be about three thousand products.
A distinctive feature will be a high share (60 percent) of fresh products – fruits, vegetables, dairy products, baked goods, ready-to-eat foods … The already opened store also has a cafe with a seating area. The company promises that prices in this format of stores will not differ from those in classic supermarkets.
In early 2022, as explained by the general director of Perekrestok Vladislav Kurbatov, four more points will open in Moscow. After analyzing their work, the company will decide to scale the project.
Previously, the company has already tried to enter the format of convenience stores using the Perekrestok-Express network (retail outlets with an area of up to 200 square meters), but in 2017 sold it.
According to experts, the current time is better for the development of small stores. At the same time, X5 could have chosen Perekrestok for positioning outlets higher than Pyaterochka stores. In Europe, formats with a high proportion of gastronomy and café zones are gaining popularity. In Russia, AV Daily and large Vkusvilla facilities are responsible for them.
Earlier, the head of VkusVilla, Andrei Krivenko, said that the chain is going to move away from the active development of the traditional retail format in order to concentrate on online trading.