X5 OPENS LARGEST VPROK.RU PEREKRESTOK DARK STORE

LARGEST VPROK.RU PEREKRESTOK DARK STORE LAUNCHED IN MOSCOW

Moscow, 13 October 2021 - X5 Group ("X5" or the "Company"), a leading Russian food retailer (LSE and MOEX ticker: "FIVE"), has opened a new Vprok.ru Perekrestok dark store with a total area of 37,000 sq m. Located in Salaryevo, Novomoskovsky District, it is the online hypermarket's third such facility in Moscow and the fifth and largest in Russia. The new dark store has increased Vprok.ru Perekrestok's total capacity in the Moscow region by 40%.

Initially, it will carry 30,000 SKUs, with the assortment projected to grow to 120,000 SKUs by the end of 2021. In the newly opened dark store, the area for non-food or extended shelf life products is four times larger compared to the online hypermarket's other facilities.

The new dark store currently handles around 500 orders per day and has about 220 employees and 30 vehicles to support its operations. Once at full capacity, it will be able to handle 8,000 orders, with the number of staff and vehicles growing to 600 and 200, respectively. Going forward, the facility may generate as many as 4,000 jobs in the region. 

"Dark stores are at the core of Vprok.ru Perekrestok's business model - this is where we assemble all our orders. The online hypermarket's mission is built around stock-up shopping and delivery of orders of up to 500 kg on the same or next day. To meet our customer's expectations, we need to ensure speedy processing and order assembly, which the dark store model helps achieve," said Leonid Dovladbegyan, Managing Director of Vprok.ru Perekrestok. "Speed is particularly important today, when customers are increasingly opting for online shopping. This shift in preferences makes it a key competitive advantage. By opening the third dark store in Moscow, we seek to boost our capacities in the region and improve order handling efficiency to ensure faster and more convenient delivery for our customers."

Currently, the Vprok.ru Perekrestok online hypermarket handles up to 15,000 orders per day, with the total number in Q2 2021 having exceeded 1 million (up 13% year-on-year). The average ticket was RUB 4,877. Today, there are five Vprok.ru Perekrestok dark stores in Russia, including three in Moscow (in Vyoshki and Vidnoye) and one each in St Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod.

The online hypermarket's courier service is offered in eight regions across Russia, including Moscow and St Petersburg, as well as the Moscow, Leningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan, Tula and Tver regions. Orders are delivered to a customer's doorstep by truck drivers, with over 70,000 SKUs available for purchase, including from the fresh and ultra-fresh categories. All trucks are equipped with special refrigerators to maintain proper temperature during delivery.

In 57 additional regions, Vprok.ru Perekrestok operates in the self-pick-up format, offering customers an assortment of 40,000 SKUs that comprises household goods, household chemicals, children's products, groceries, professional pet goods and more. However, fresh, ultra-fresh, frozen and large-sized goods are not available for pick-up in these regions. Shoppers can collect their orders at the checkout of the nearest Pyaterochka store or at 5Post pick-up points, with 3,500 of them integrated with the service.

Note to Editors:

X5 Retail Group N.V. (LSE and MOEX: FIVE, Fitch - 'BB+', Moody's - 'Ba1', S&P - 'BB+', RAEX - 'ruAA+') is a leading Russian food retailer. The Company operates proximity stores under the Pyaterochka brand, Perekrestok supermarkets and Karusel hypermarkets. X5 provides an omnichannel experience to its customers, integrating retail stores and e-commerce through its businesses Vprok.ru Perekrestok, 5Post and Okolo.

As of 30 June 2021, X5 had 18,295 Company-operated stores. It has the leading market position in both Moscow and St Petersburg and a significant presence in the European part of Russia. Its store base includes 17,268 Pyaterochka proximity stores, 968 Perekrestok supermarkets and 40 Karusel hypermarkets. The Company operates 43 DCs and 4,128 Company-owned trucks across the Russian Federation.

X5 is one of the largest employers in Russia. The Company employs over 339 thousand people.

For the full year 2020, revenue totalled RUB 1,978,026 mln (USD 27,417 mln), EBITDA pre-IFRS 16 reached RUB 145,137 mln (USD 2,012 mln), and net profit pre-IFRS 16 for the period amounted to RUB 39,180 mln (USD 543 mln). In H1 2021, revenue totalled RUB 1,053,703 mln (USD 14,186 mln), adjusted EBITDA pre-IFRS 16 reached RUB 80,899 mln (USD 1,089 mln), and net profit pre-IFRS 16 amounted to RUB 25,296 mln (USD 341 mln).

X5's Shareholder structure is as follows: CTF Holdings S.A. - 47.86%, Intertrust Trustees Ltd (Axon Trust) - 11.43%, X5 Directors - 0.10%, treasury shares - 0.01%, Shareholders with less than 3% - 40.60%.

Forward looking statements:

This announcement includes statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not only relate to historical or current events. Forward-looking statements often use words such as "anticipate", "target", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "expected", "plan", "goal", "believe", or other words of similar meaning.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances, a number of which are beyond X5 Retail Group N.V.'s control. As a result, actual future results may differ materially from the plans, goals and expectations set out in these forward-looking statements.

Any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of X5 Retail Group N.V. speak only as of the date of this announcement. Save as required by any applicable laws or regulations, X5 Retail Group N.V. undertakes no obligation publicly to release the results of any revisions to any forward-looking statements in this document that may occur due to any change in its expectations or to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this document.