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being robust, with the company strengthening its leadership position. We highlight that Russia is set to be one of the most resilient countries in the company's portfolio, due to the small share of the on-trade channel (some 5% of total sales in Russia). In terms of domestic markets in Turkey the share of on-trade is 25% and is not compensated, so we see moderate downside risks for consolidated sales in 2020.
Hundreds of thousands of Moscow’s small businesses are unable to comply with new restrictions introduced by Mayor Sergei Sobyanin to contain the second wave of the coronavirus, The Moscow Times reported. Sobyanin has ordered the capital’s employers to ensure at least 30% of their staff are working remotely in an attempt to limit movement around the Russian capital, home to some 13 million people. But a survey of 300 businesses in Moscow found only 50% are able to meet the requirement, while others operating in sectors like construction, manufacturing, healthcare, retail and catering are finding it impossible to stick to the rules. Of the firms who were able to meet the requirements, most had still not brought employees back to the office following the initial outbreak of the pandemic, raising questions about how effective the policy will be at containing the spread of the virus. Sobyanin has called this a “decisive week” in the capital’s fight against a second wave. He has warned continued growth in cases could lead to tougher restrictions. Federal authorities have pushed back against the idea of a stricter lockdown, even as Russia is reporting record levels of daily infections and Moscow has seen thousands of Covid-19 hospitalizations over the last week. Businesses say they also face technical and legal obstacles to complying with the mayor’s work-from-home order.
The number of hard discounter retail format stores in Russia increased by 25% from September 2017 to September 2020 to 139,600 stores, Kommersant a nd 2GIS service said on October 9.
Most of the discounter stores were proximity stores (64%), followed by supermarkets (34%), with only a small share of hypermarkets (2%).
As reported by bne IntelliNews, Russia's largest retailers X5 Retail Group and Magnit are also testing discounter formats.
The largest player on the market is Svetofor with 712 stores (jumping 1.5-fold in 2 years), followed by Hleb Sol (140 stores, doubled in 2 years), and Dobrocena (45 stores, down from 51).
In 1H20 the share of discounter stores in total food retail in Russia was estimated at 3% and could reach 10% in the next five years, Infoline Analysts estimated for Kommersant, a trend that was confirmed by other analysts surveyed by the daily.
114 RUSSIA Country Report November 2020 www.intellinews.com
